University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

THE  PETER  AND  ROSELL  HARVEY 
MEMORIAL  FUND 


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THE    QUALLE.      p.    200. 


FIVE  YEARS  A  CAPTIVE 


AMONG    THE 


BLACK-FEET   INDIANS 


O  R  , 


A  THRILLING  NARRATIVE 

OF    THE    ADVENTURES,    PERILS    AND    SUFFERING   ENDURED 
BY    JOHN    DIXON    AND    HIS    COMPANIONS,    AMONG 
THE    SAVAGES    OF    THE    NORTIWEST    TER 
RITORY    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 

NEVER    BEFORE   PUBLISHED. 


BY  SYLVESTER  CRAH3S,  Jlh\. 


Fiction's  web  is  woven  .  will, 
But  "  truth  is  often  strajer  still.' 


C  O  L  U  M  BJ  S  : 

OSGOOD  &  PEARCE  PRINTERS. 

1858 


&-•-'<        /^ 


^  "    <*^ 


Entered  according  tk  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858, 
BY  SYLVESTER  CRAKES,  JUN., 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  tli  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  Soupern  District  of  Ohio. 


INTRODUCTION. 


JOHN  DIXON  emigrated  to  Oregon,  from  the  North  of 
England,  in  the  year  1801.  His  object,  in  connection 
with  a  number  of  others,  who  sailed  in  the  same  vessel 
was  to  connect  himself  in  the  capacity  of  employee  with 
the  "  Hudson's  Bay  Company,"  engaged  in  the  fur 
trade.  The  notes  of  Mr.  Dixon,  from  which  this  work 
is  compiled,  does  not  inform  us  what  county  in  England 
he  hailed  from,  or  the  name  of  the  ship  in  which  he 
sailed.  He  tells  us,  however,  that  on  the  6th  of  July, 
in  the  year  1801,  they  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Co 
lumbia  river,  in  Oregon,  and  shortly  after  entered  the 
service  of  the  Fur  Company ;  in  which  situation  he 
continued  until  the  15th  of  June,  1802,  at  which  time, 
owing  to  a  misunderstanding  between  himself  and  two 
others,  on  the  one  part,  and  some  of  the  officers  of  the 
Company  on  the  other,  he  and  his  companions,  William 
Thornton  and  Jack  Moulton,  determined  to  leave  the 
service  of  the  Company  and  seek  their  fortunes  together, 
in  their  own  way,  in  a  remote  part  of  the  Territory, 
uncontrolled  and  undisturbed  by  the  mandates  of  the 
Company. 

Preparatory  to  starting,  they  had  furnished  themselves 
with  provisions  sufficient  for  one  month,  by  which  time 
they  supposed  they  would  become  established  in  their 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

new  quarters ;  after  which,  they  doubted  not,  but  that 
by  an  occasional  traffic  with  the  Indians,  and  the  use  of 
their  unerring  rifles,  they  would  be  enabled  to  furnish 
themselves  with  an  ample  supply  of  all  the  food  neces 
sary  for  the  comfort  of  trappers.  And  for  clothing, 
they  had,  as  they  supposed,  sufficient  to  last  them  one 
year ;  at  the  end  of  which  time,  (provided  they  were 
successful,)  they  could  return  to  the  Company's  agency, 
and  procure  a  fresh  supply. 

During  the  time  they  were  employed  by  the  Company, 
they  had  frequently  heard  old  trappers  speak  of  the 
abundance  of  fur-bearing  animals  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  Missouri,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
And  having  collected  all  the  information  which  they 
deemed  necessary,  in  order  to  reach  that  region,  they 
set  out  on  their  journey ;  and  passing  over  many  inci 
dents  and  difficulties  which  they  encountered  and  sur 
mounted  in  the  way,  on  the  12th  of  July  following 
they  reached  what  they  supposed  to  be  the  country  for 
which  they  started,  and  with  alacrity  set  about  preparing 
their  camp  for  future  use  and  comfort. 

From  this  point,  the  many  astonishing  and  tragical 
scenes  in  the  life  of  John  Dixon  will  commence.  And 
after  the  reader  has  perused  the  pages  of  this  work,  he 
may  well  exclaim,  "  Yerily,  truth  is  sometimes  stranger 
than  fiction!" 

In  conclusion  of  our  introductory  remarks,  we  would 
inform  the  reader  that  the  facts  narrated  in  this  work, 
are  compiled  from  Mr.  Dixon's  own  notes ;  who,  after 
having  been  five  years  a  captive  among  the  Black-Feet 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

Indians,  made  his  escape  into  New  Mexico,  where  he 
obtained  employment  in  the  capacity  of  shepherd  to 
Castra  Urego,  a  wealthy  Spaniard  of  that  country,  with 
the  design  (as  his  notes  inform  us)  to  raise  sufficient 
funds  to  return  to  England,  where  he  intended  to  pub 
lish  this  work.  But,  unfortunately,  he  was  taken  sick 
and  died,  before  his  term  of  service  with  Castra  Urego 
expired.  And,  until  recently,  it  was  no  tknown,  except 
by  his  relations  and  immediate  friends,  that  John  Dixon, 
the  English  captive  among  the  American  Indians,  ever 
lived  ;  nor  would  the  facts  ever  have  been  known,  prob 
ably,  but  for  accident,  which  brought  them  to  light. . 

During  the  winter  of  1855,  Mr.  Winter,  an  American 
gentleman,  was  spending  some  time  in  Santa  Fe,  trans 
acting  business  for  a  mercantile  house  in  New  Orleans. 
Upon  a  certain  occasion,  he  concluded  to  spend  a  few 
days  in  the  country,  at  the  residence  of  a  gentleman  with 
whom  he  had  formed  a  partial  acquaintance  during  his 
residence  at  Santa  Fe,  and  who  had  cordially  invited  a 
visit  from  him,  at  his  ranch,  and  the  acceptance  of  his 
hospitality. 

It  was  during  the  visit  of  Mr.  W.  at  the  ranch  of 
Don  Zeno,  son  of  Castra  Urego,  that  the  notes  of  Mr. 
Dixon  were  first  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  any  one 
who  could  read  and  comprehend  them.  After  the  death 
of  Mr.  D.,  Castra  Urego,  although  unable  to  read  his 
(Mr.  D.'s)  notes,  had  carefully  filed  them  away,  and  after 
the  death  of  his  father,  Don  Zeno  preserved  them  as  a 
curiosity ;  and  on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  W.  's  visit,  the 
notes  of  Mr.  Dixion  were  presented,  as  he  supposed,  to 


yi  INTRODUCTION. 

amuse  him,  when  he  perused  them  with  much  interest. 
Learning  these  facts  from  Mr.  W.,  some  two  years  after, 
the  Editor,  on  his  (Mr.W.'s)  subsequent  return  to  New 
Mexico,  deputed  him  to  obtain  from  Don  Zeno  the 
manuscript  of  Mr.  Dixon  ;  which,  after  some  delay  and 
considerable  difficulty,  he  finally  obtained. 

In  compiling  this  work,  the  Editor  has  strictly  fol 
lowed  the  facts  in  Mr.  D.'s  notes,  elaborating  them  as 
little  as  possible,  in  order  to  present  them  to  the  public 
in  an  intelligible,  and,  at  the  same  time,  interesting  form. 

EDITOR. 


FIVE  YEARS  A  CAPTIVE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

ON  the  12th  day  of  July,  1802,  after  a  long,  tedious, 
and,  in  some  respects,  dangerous  journey,  we  arrived  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  immediately 
set  about  preparing  our  camp,  in  order  to  devote  our 
attention  regularly  to  the  business  of  trapping.  Having 
reached  the  point  for  which  we  started  in  safety,  our 
spirits  were  greatly  elated,  in  view  of  the  success 
which  we  doubted  not  would  attend  our  enterprise.  At 
least,  we  considered  ourselves  forever  safe  from  the  in 
sults  and  oppressions  practiced  by  the  officers  and  place 
men  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  upon  all  those 
whom  they  deem  under  their  authority. 

This  Company,  like  the  East  India  Company,  has 
become  one  of  considerable  power  and  pretension  ;  and 
from  year  to  year,  is  extending  its  influence  and  strength 
ening  its  grasp  upon  the  interests  and  energies  of  the 
vast  extent  of  territory  over  which  it  claims  to  preside. 
Its  rule  is  despotic,  crushing  and  degrading,  not  only 
to  the  aborigines  of  the  country,  but  to  all  those  who 


8  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

are  in  its  employ,  or  under  its  influences,  who  are  so  un 
fortunate  as  to  be  neither  office-holders  or  favorites. 

Having  said  thus  much  in  digression,  we  will  return 
to  the  point  from  whence  we  started.  After  crossing 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  we  made  choice  of  a  locality  for 
our  encampment,  which  we  thought  peculiarly  favorable 
to  our  purpose.  It  was  near  the  junction  of  the  Mis 
souri  with  one  of  its  tributary  rivers,  at  the  foot  of  a 
spur  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  locality  was  not 
only  protected  by  the  mountains,  but  was  surrounded 
by  a  beautiful  grove  of  young  timber,  which  gave  the 
place  an  appearance  of  extreme  loveliness  and  security. 
In  the  immediate  vicinity,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
gushed  up,  amid  the  rocks,  a  spring  of  never-failing  wa 
ter,  clear  as  a  crystal,  cool  and  refreshing. 

As  before  narrated,  it  was  on  the  12th  of  July  that 
we  reached  the  place  of  our  encampment,  and  in  three 
days  from  the  time  of  our  arrival,  we  had  every  thing 
arranged  in  our  camp  for  security  and  comfort,  as  far  as 
our  limited  means  would  permit,  and  immediately  set 
about  prospecting  for  the  most  advantageous  points  in 
our  vicinity  for  the  use  of  our  traps,  endeavoring,  at  the 
same  time,  to  procure  something  upon  which  to  subsist ; 
our  slender  stock  of  provisions,  laid  in  at  the  commence 
ment  of  our  enterprise,  being  about  exhasted.  We  left 
our  camp  early  in  the  morning,  and  directed  our  course 
up  the  tributary  river,  paying  due  regard,  as  we  passed 
along  the  stream,  to  the  indications  of  the  proximity  of 
a  plentiful  supply  of  such  fur-bearing  animals  as  we 
most  desired  to  take.  This  part  of  the  business  was 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  9 

more  particularly  intrusted  to  Jack  Moulton,  as  he  was 
an  old  trapper,  having  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  Company,  in  that  capacity,  for  ten  years. 

Whilst  Moulton  was  engaged  as  the  principal  trapper, 
Thornton  and  myself  were  to  attend  to  the  hunting  ; 
and  whilst  he  hunted  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  I 
carefully  scoured  the  left ;  but  we  were  neither  of  us  to 
wander  farther  from  the  river  than  the  report  of  our 
guns  could  be  heard.  In  case  the  report  of  either  rifle 
was  heard,  the  others  were  to  proceed  immediately 
toward  the  point  from  which  it  came,  and  render  all 
necessary  assistance  in  taking  and  securing  the  game, 
or  in  any  other  exigence. 

We  had  proceeded  in  this  manner  until  about  11 
o'clock,  when  I  heard  the  report  of  a  rifle,  probably  a 
mile  distant,  in  the  direct  line  of  the  river,  as  I  supposed. 
I  immediately,  started  for  that  point,  and  in  a  few  min 
utes  had  the  satisfaction  of  coming  up  with  Jack  Moul 
ton,  very  composedly  sitting  astride  of  a  fine  fat  elk, 
upon  the  bank  of  the  river.  A  short  time  after,  Will 
Thornton  came  up,  who  seemed  remarkably  well  pleased 
with  our  acquisition,  in  the  line  of  good  living. 

Jack  informed  us  that  he  discovered  this  beautiful 
animal  making  for  the  water,  about  seventy-five  yards 
in  advance  of  him.  and  that  he  stood  still  until  the  elk 
proceeded  to  the  water  and  commenced  drinking,  when, 
without  moving  a  step  from  where  he  stood,  he  fired — 
and  after  making  two  or  three  bounds  to  the  rear,  the 
elk  dropped  dead  upon  the  bank.  Jack  certainly  made 
a  very  fortunate  and  deadly  shot,  the  ball  passing  through 


10  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

the  body  and  penetrating  the  heart  of  the  animal. — 
Having  removed  the  viscera  from  the  elk,  we  swung  him 
to  a  bush,  sufficiently  high  to  secure  the  venison  from 
the  wolves,  and  continued  our  march  up  the  river,  in  the 
order  mentioned. 

About  three  o'clock,  p.  M.,  in  crossing  a  small  stream 
connecting  with  the  river  upon  the  banks  of  which  we 
had  been  hunting,  I  discovered  an  otter,  perched  upon 
a  log  over  the  stream,  and  shot  it.  This  piece  of  luck 
I  regarded  as  quite  an  acquisition,  and  felt  proud  of  my 
day's  work. 

The  fur  of  this  animal  is  regarded  as  valuable,  and 
we  were  well  pleased  to  find  it  an  inhabitant  of  our  new 
hunting-ground  Soon  after  I  discharged  my  rifle,  in 
shooting  the  otter,  I  heard  the  report  of  another,  in  the 
direction  of  the  river,  and  it  being  about  the  time  we 
had  agreed  to  meet,  in  order  to  return  to  camp,  I  im 
mediately  started  in  that  direction,  and  had  no  difficulty 
in  finding  Jack,  for  I  heard  him  whistling  before  I  got 
within  one  hundred  '  yards  of  him.  He  had  killed 
nothing  since  the  elk,  but  discharged  his  gun  to  bring 
Thornton  and  myself  to  him,  that  we  might  return  to 
camp.  Thornton  made  his  appearance  soon  after  my 
arrival,  and  reported  having  seen  nothing  during  the 
day  worth  a  load  of  ammunition.  We,  however,  con 
soled  him  with  the  hope  that  his  fortunate  star  would 
yet  loom  above  the  horizon,  and  perhaps  eclipse  ours. 
Will  laughed  merrily  at  his  ill  luck,  and  said  it  was  well 
for  such  hunters  as  he  was  that  our  stock  in  trade  be 
longed  to  tenants  in  common,  and  there  were  only  three 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  11 

of  us.  Moulton  told  us  that  he  had  discovered  abun 
dant  signs  of  otter,  beaver,  raccoon,  mink,  and  several 
other  species  of  furred  animals ;  and  last,  though  not 
least,  that  he  was  sure  there  were  plenty  of  bears  in 
this  region.  This  news  was,  of  course,  to  us,  highly 
gratifying,  as  hunting  and  trapping  were  the  great  ob 
jects  of  our  penetrating  these  vast  regions,  far  from 
civilized  life. 

In  fine  spirits  we  retraced  our  steps  to  camp,  taking 
with  us,  of  course,  the  carcass  of  the  elk  which  Moulton 
had  killed  in  the  morning,  and  which  we  found  secure 
from  molestation.  In  order  to  get  him  to  camp,  we  pro 
cured  a  pole,  about  ten  feet  long,  and  having  lashed  the 
elk  across  the  middle  of  it,  Moulton  and  myself  took 
the  opposite  ends,  each  upon  one  shoulder,  and  Thorn 
ton  occasionally  relieved  us.  In  this  way  we  carried 
him  to  the  camp,  a  distance  of  some  five  miles. 

Having  secured  our  venison,  we  broiled  a  portion  of 
it,  and  made  an  excellent  supper.  We  found  it  tender, 
and  of  a  fine,  rich  flavor,  and  we  all  enjoyed  it  exceed 
ingly.  The  day  had  been  very  warm,  and  we  were  all 
tired;  and  after  our  evening's  repast,  we  were  soon  hap 
py  in  the  embrace  of  Morpheus.  About  midnight,  we 
were  awakened  by  the  howling  of  wolves — seemingly 
from  almost  every  point  of  the  compass.  Although  this 
outcry  was  to  us  nothing  unusual  or  strange  in  itself,  yet 
in  point  of  proximity  and  volume  we  had  heard  nothing 
of  the  kind  equal  to  it.  From  the  doleful  noise  pro 
duced  by  the  various  sounds,  of  chords  and  discords, 
one  unacquainted  with  this  music  of  the  forest  would 


12  FIVE   YEABS   A   CAPTIVE 

have  supposed  that  the  mountains  and  valleys  were  alive 
with  these  depredators  upon  the  rights  of  the  more 
harmless  sojourners  of  this  country.  Our  sleep,  how 
ever,  was  too  refresshing  to  be  long  broken  by  these 
stragglers  of  the  night.  Knowing  that  our  lodge  was 
strong  enough  to  resist  the  attacks  of  any  animal  that 
we  had  reason  to  suppose  inhabited  these  mountains,  a 
feeling  of  conscious  security  guarded  our  rest.  Our 
lodge  was  built  of  solid  logs,  twelve  by  fourteen  feet  in 
extent,  and  ten  feet  high.  The  opening  was  sufficiently 
capacious  to  admit  one  man  at  a  time,  and  the  door  was 
a  stout  oak  puncheon,  four  inches  in  thickness,  swung 
upon  wooden  hinges,  and  fastened  on  the  inside  by 
means  of  a  wooden  bolt.  The  roof  was  also  composed 
of  puncheons,  sufficiently  strong  to  resist  rain  and  snow, 
or  the  efforts  of  any  animal  less  powerful  than  the  ele 
phant  or  mastadon. 

Although  this  mechanical  appearance  of  our  dwelling 
might  not  have  inspired  the  imagination  of  a  noble  of 
London  or  Paris,  yet  with  us  it  was  the  very  beau 
ideal  of  neatness,  elegance,  and  propriety;  especially 
so,  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  the 
only  tools  we  had  to  work  with,  in  the  erection  of  this 
sumptuous  building,  were  two  axes,  an  auger,  and  our 
jack-knives,  which  we  had  brought  with  us  from  the 
station  at  Yancouver. 

Our  sleep  during  the  night  had  been  refreshing;  and 
we  awoke  about  the  time  the  sun  was  making  his  ap 
pearance  in  the  eastern  horizon.  The  sky  was  clear, 
the  air  balmy,  and  all  nature,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 


AMONG    THE    BLACK-FEET    INDIANS.  13 

reach,  seemed  rejoicing  in  its  wild  and  gorgeous  beauty. 
The  mountains,  the  hillocks,  and  the  vales  seemed 
lavish  of  their  smiles,  decked  as  they  were  in  the  beau 
tiful  robes  with  which  the  God  of  Nature  had  clad 
them  thousands  of  years  ago.  And  the  birds,  those 
sweet  choristers,  whose  dulcet  notes  were  keyed  by  the 
fingers  of  the  Almighty,  how  delightful,  how  ravishing 
their  songs  ! 

We  found  a  rare  species  of  bird  as  an  inhabitant  of 
these  mountain  fastnesses,  which  I  wish  to  describe  more 
particularly.  To  me  its  manners  and  appearance  were 
quite  novel,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  in  Europe  there  are 
none  like  it.  I  am  not  an  ornithologist,  and  can  not 
describe  the  bird  technically;  but  in  size  it  was  about 
equal  to  the  robin,  with  alternate  black  and  yellow 
spots  covering  the  body,  excepting  the  wings,  which  are 
a  beautiful  bright  crimson.  It  is  a  delightful  singer, 
with  notes  clear,  shrill  and  melodious,  which  are  only 
heard  early  in  the  morning  and  during  the  summer 
months.  The  Indians,  I  learned  subsequently,  at 
tach  a  degree  of  sacredness  to  this  bird,  and  will, 
under  no  circumstances,  permit  it  to  be  killed  or  in 
any  way  molested,  believing  they  are  messengers  to 
them,  indicative  of  good  fortune,  peace  and  plenty. 
These  birds  are  not  numerous,  and  it  is  only  occa 
sionally  that  the  adventurer  among  these  mountains  gets 
sight  of  one.  They  are  exceedingly  shy  and  timid,  and 
on  the  first  alarm  disappear. 

The  natives  of  these  regions  call  this  bird  Kiwah, 
which  signifies,  in  the  Black-Feet  language,  "sacred." 


14  FIVE   YEARS    A   CAPTIVE 

Having  disposed  of  our  breakfast  at  an  early  hour, 
we  started,  with  our  traps  and  rifles,  up  the  tributary 
river,  in  order  to  try  our  luck  trapping. 

Jack  Moulton  disposed  of  the  traps  along  the  river, 
as,  according  to  his  judgment,  seemed  most  judicious, 
and  at  such  intervals  as  his  experience  approved. 

The  traps  having  been  thus  arraged,  we  concluded  to 
spend  the  remainder  of  the  day  hunting;  and,  after 
taking  our  lunch,  we  separated,  agreeing  to  meet  about 
three  o'clock,  at  a  certain  point  on  the  river,  in  order  to 
return  to  camp. 

We  determined,  to-day,  to  strike  out  some  distance 
from  the  river,  every  man  to  pursue  his  own  course 
and  make  the  best  of  his  time.  After  having  gone 
about  three  miles  back  from  the  river,  I  perceived  five 
spotted  antelopes.  With  a  great  deal  of  caution,  I 
succeeded  in  getting  within  shooting  distance  of  them, 
and,  selecting  one  of  the  finest,  I  fired,  and  had  the  sat 
isfaction  to  see  him  drop  to  the  ground.  All  the  others 
darted  away,  as  if  Old  Nick  were  after  them,  and  were 
soon  out  of  my  sight.  After  loading  my  rifle,  I  went  to 
the  spot  where  I  had  seen  my  game  drop,  but  to  my 
astonishment  it  was  not  there.  I  found  blood  in  any 
quantity,  but  where  the  antelope  was,  was  more  than  I 
could  tell.  After  searching  for  some  time,  I  finally 
came  upon  its  bloody  trail,  and  pursuing  it  about  a  mile, 
came  up  with  the  expiring  animal,  just  in  time  to  be  in 
at  the  death.  The  antelope  had  sought  the  shelter  of  a 
thicket  of  young  timber  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  as 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  15 

a  proper  place  to  yield  up  the  ghost.  I  was  not  long 
in  removing  the  entrails,  and  securely  elevating  it  to  the 
top  of  a  bush.  These  antelopes,  of  which  there  are 
several  kinds  in  this  country,  are  a  species  of  deer,  and 
are  a  most  graceful  animal.  They  are  extremely  active, 
and  their  motion  is  majestic  and  lofty. 

Having  made  this  disposition  of  my  game,  I  returned 
to  the  point  on  the  river  designated,  to  meet  Thornton 
and  Moulton,  for  our  return  to  the  camp.  After  wait 
ing  half  an  hour,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them 
coming  together. 

Thornton,  in  the  course  of  his  hunt,  had  the  fortune, 
or  rather  misfortune,  to  fall  in  with  a  brown  bear,  and 
having  discharged  his  rifle  and  wounded  it,  like  a  true 
soldier,  (as  these  bears  uniformly  are,)  it  struck  a 
straight  line  for  Thornton's  headquarters.  Thornton  no 
sooner  discovered  this  mano3uvre  on  the  part  of  the  bear, 
than,  deeming  discretion  the  better  policy,  he  hastily  beat 
a  retreat,  whilst  the  bear,  with  commendable  zeal,  was 
bringing  up  the  rear.  What  the  result  would  have 
been,  had  not  Thornton,  in  his  retreat,  accidentally  have 
crossed  the  path  of  Moulton,  is  somewhat  doubtful. 
Moulton  thought  the  chances  in  favor  of  the  bear,  for, 
although  Will  seemed  to  be  making  his  fifteen  knots  an 
hour,  yet  the  bear  seemed  good  for  twenty. 

In  this  state  of  the  case,  all  the  resources  of  Moulton, 
acquired  during  ten  years'  experience  in  a  trapper's  life, 
were  brought  into  immediate  requisition.  He  threw 
himself  in  advance  of  Thornton,  and  told  him,  as  he 
valued  his  life,  to  stop ;  which  Thornton,  although  badly 


• 

16  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

frightened,  did.  Moulton  then  drew  his  knife,  and  or 
dered  Thornton  to  do  the  same.  The  bear,  seeing  there 
was  to  be  a  fight,  checked  his  motion,  and  advanced  with 
caution  and  precision.  Moulton  told  Thornton  to  stand 
firmly  to  his  post,  and  in  case  he  failed  to  bring  the  bear 
down  with  his  rifle,  to  be  ready  with  his  knife — for  this, 
with  them,  would  be  the  last  resort  in  a  desperate  case. 
Moulton  reserved  his  fire  until  the  bear  was  within  ten 
or  twelve  feet  of  them,  when  he  drew  up,  and  aiming  the 
ball  for  its  forehead,  fired.  The  bear  dropped  in  its 
tracks,  and,  although  exceedingly  tenacious  of  life,  unless 
shot  in  a  vital  part,  immediately  expired.  He  measured 
in  length  nine  feet,  and  would  probably  have  weighed  a 
thousand  pounds.  Thornton  and  Moulton  brought  in 
the  skin  to  camp,  which  was  sufficiently  large  to  make 
an  excellent  bed-cover. 

There  are  three  species  of  bears  which  inhabit  this 
country,  namely  :  the  black,  the  brown,  and  the  grizzly 
bear.  The  grizzly  bear  is  the  most  formidable  com 
petitor,  in  animal  similitude,  with  which  the  hunter  has 
to  contend ;  and  the  brown  bear,  in  this  respect,  is  not 
much  his  inferior.  The  black  bear  is  much  smaller  and 
more  harmless.  We  now  returned  to  camp,  and  having 
disposed  of  our  frugal  meal,  and  spent  an  hour  in  re 
counting  the  adventures  of  the  day  and  making  various 
conjectures  as  to  our  success  in  our  trapping  enterprise, 
retired  to  rest. 

The  wolves,  although  somewhat  annoying,  were  not 
so  vociferous  last  night.  At  an  early  hour  this  morning 
we  were  astir,  in  high  hopes  of  realizing  with  our  traps 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  It 

the  great  desire  of  our  hearts — abundance  .of  fur. — 
Having  partaken  of  our  morning  meal,  we  took  our 
rifles  and  started  for  the  traps,  and  were  not  a  little 
gratified  to  find,  on  our  arrival,  that  we  had  secured 
three  beavers  and  two  otters.  Every  trap  contained  a 
prize  except  one,  and  it  had  been  sprung,  but  from  some 
cause  (although  the  bait  was  gone)  it  had  failed  to 
secure  its  game.  Having  re-set  our  traps,  we  started 
in  pursuit  of  the  antelope  that  I  had  killed  yesterday, 
and  finding  it  secure  from  harm,  took  it  and  our  fur,  and 
returned  to  camp — gratified  with  our  day's  work. 

The  great  problem  with  us  was  now  fully  established, 
that  we  were  in  the  midst  of  fur ;  and  the  probability 
was,  that  it  existed  in  large  quantities,  and  had  never 
yet  been  disturbed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  or  any  other 
Company.  We  felt  greatly  the  need  of  more  traps — 
having  but  six,  which  we  had  brought  from  Vancouver. 
This  difficulty,  however,  was  soon  remedied.  Thornton 
being  something  of  a  mechanic,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days  he  constructed,  of  wood,  ten  more — which,  although 
not  as  good  as  metal,  answered  a  very  good  purpose  in 
the  taking  of  some  animals.  We  had  now  sixteen  traps, 
six  of  which  were  metal,  and  ten  of  wood ;  and  as  our 
necessities  might  require,  we  could  increase  them  to  any 
number  desired. 

1* 


18  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 


CHAPTER    II. 

THERE  is,  perhaps,  no  legitimate  pursuit  that  is  fol 
lowed  by  man,  that  is  more  trying  upon  the  constitution 
than  that  of  trapping.  The  trapper's  life,  besides  being 
one  of  immense  toil,  is  also  one  of  continual  exposure. 
It  matters  not  what  may  be  the  state  of  the  weather — 
whether  wet  or  dry,  hot  or  cold ;  if  he  is  faithful  to  his 
duties,  he  must  meet  it,  without  discrimination,  or  re 
gard  for  his  own  comfort  or  ease.  In  our  case,  the 
labor  was  increased,  from  the  fact  that,  aside  from  our 
regular  business  of  hunting  and  trapping,  we  had  also, 
at  the  same  time,  to  provide  our  own  means  of  subsist 
ence,  which  of  itself  adds  no  small  item  to  the  daily 
task  in  the  life  of  a  back-woodsman.  Although  we 
generally  found  little  difficulty  in  supplying  ourselves 
with  plenty  of  game,  yet  it  required  no  little  wear  of  the 
physical  powers  to  keep  up  our  daily  supply. 

For  some  time  after  we  had  established  ourselves  in 
our  present  quarters,  our  supplies,  of  whatever  kind, 
had  to  be  carried  to  camp  upon  our  own  shoulders, 
having  neither  horse,  ox,  jack,  or  mule,  to  relieve  us  in 
this  arduous  labor.  And,  notwithstanding  the  immense 
amount  of  toil  to  which  we  were  subjected,  we  got  along 


AMONG  THE  BLACK- FEET  INDIANS.        19 

pleasantly,  and  enjoyed  this  state  of  wild  freedom  and 
adventure.  No  disposition  was  manifested  on  the  part 
of  any  of  us  to  shrink  from  duty  ;  but  each  proceeded 
with  alacrity  and  cheerfulness  in  the  discharge  of  what 
ever  seemed  necessary  to  be  done.  And,  indeed,  not 
withstanding  all  the  toil  and  privations  incident  to  a 
trapper's  life,  there  is  a  certain  kind  of  excitement  and 
enchantment  about  it,  which  is  not  only  pleasing,  but 
actually  captivating.  And  hence  we  generally  find  that 
those  persons  who  have  spent  any  considerable  portion 
of  their  lives  in  this  pursuit,  with  reluctance  relinquish 
it,  if  they  ever  do  ;  and  their  minds  often  recur,  with  an 
almost  longing  desire,  to  return  to  it  again. 

In  the  wild  roaming  of  the  hunter,  amid  the  freedom 
of  the  forest,  mountains,  hills,  and  valleys,  there  is  a 
species  of  ennobling  adventure  and  enlarged  liberty, 
that  is  calculated  to  fill  the  soul  with  admiration  for  the 
vast  and  grand  in  nature — where  the  looming  of  the 
hoary  mountain,  the  roaring  of  the  river,  the  whisper 
ing  of  the  forest,  and  the  murmuring  of  the  gentle 
rivulet,  speak,  in  accents  bold  and  grand,  the  praises  of 
that  God  who  cammanded,  and  they  stood  fast.  Cut 
off  from  all  the  conventionalities  of  civilized  life,  the 
trapper  feels  somewhat  like  Robinson  Crusoe,  on  the 
island  of  Juan  Fernandez, 

"  I  am  monarch  of  all  I  survey, 
My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute." 

Yet,  as  far  as  our  rights  were  concerned,  the  reader  will 

find,  before  he  gets  through, this  quotation  does  not  apply. 

Our  success  in  trapping,  thus  far,  had  been  fully  equal 


20  FIVE    YEARS    A    CAPTIVE 

to  our  anticipations.  Our  traps  seldom  failed,  once  in 
twenty-four  hours,  to  furnish  us  with  an  ample  supply 
of  fur ;  and  our  prospect  was  excellent  (provided  we 
met  with  no  reverses)  for  becoming  independent,  as  far 
as  this  world  was  concerned,  in  at  most  two  years — the 
time  we  had  determined  upon,  in  our  own  mind,  as  the 
period  of  our  sojourn  in  the  country.  Many  an  evening, 
after  our  day's  work  was  done,  have  we  talked  over  our 
prospects,  and  suggested  to  each  other  plans  for  the  in 
vestment  of  our  wealth,  after  our  return  to  England. — 
But,  although  in  this  we  exhibited  unmistakable  signs 
of  vanity,  yet  permit  me  to  say,  that  in  it,  there  was  at 
least  one  redeeming  quality.  We  were  all  the  sons  of 
poor  parents.  An  old  mother  and  a  maiden  sister  were 
all  the  family  ties  that  Jack  Moulton  left  in  England. 
Will  Thornton  left  a  father,  mother,  and  two  sisters ; 
and  the  survivors  of  my  family  were  a  father,  brother, 
and  a  sister — the  two  latter  being  younger  than  myself. 
In  our  suggestions  with  regard  to  the  employment  of 
our  wealth,  there  seemed  to  be  a  desire,  on  the  part  of 
each  of  us,  to  appropriate  it,  whether  little  or  much,  to 
the  advantage  of  our  respective  families.  At  times,  we 
gave  ourselves  some  uneasiness  as  to  how  we  should 
convey  our  fur  and  peltries  to  the  coast  of  the  Pacific, 
in  order  for  shipping  to  London,  at  the  expiration  of 
our  term  of  trapping  ;  but,  as  we  intended  to  return  to 
the  station  at  Yancouver  in  the  course  of  a  year,  for 
such  supplies  as  we  might  need,  we  concluded  at  that 
time  to  procure  a  number  of  horses,  with  which  to  pack 
all  our  treasures  to  the  point  desired. 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  21 

As  before  stated,  for  our  subsistence,  we  had  now  to 
depend  altogether  upon  the  chase.  But  fortunately  for 
us,  this  country  abounds  in  almost  every  variety  of  game, 
and  its  rivers  in  excellent  fish.  Deer,  antelope,  elk, 
mountain  sheep,  buffalo,  and  a  great  variety  of  smaller 
animals  and  fowls,  were  abundant ;  and,  with  ordinary 
industry  and  economy,  we  were  in  no  danger  of  perish 
ing  for  want  of  food.  The  fish  of  this  country  were  the 
best  I  ever  ate,  and  existed  in  such  quantities  that  in  a 
few  hours  we  could  take  enough  with  our  spears  to  last 
us  several  days.  Of  the  various  species  of  fish  found 
in  these  rivers,  the  salmon  was  most  numerous,  and,  in 
point  of  excellence,  is  unsurpassed.  Fishing  afforded 
not  only  amusement,  but  abundant  exercise,  when  not 
otherwise  engaged.  Our  habit  was  to  visit  our  traps  as 
early  in  the  day  as  possible ;  re-set  and  bait  them, 
make  a  proper  disposition  of  our  furs,  and  then  employ 
our  extra  time  in  hunting,  fishing,  and  securing  our 
peltries.  In  this  way,  during  the  three  months  of  our 
operations,  we  killed  a  great  many  deer,  elk,  antelopes, 
and  a  great  number  of  bears,  and  several  buffaloes,  be 
sides  an  almost  innumerable  number  of  smaller  animals. 

For  some  time  after  we  had  established  ourselves  in 
our  new  quarters,  we  were  deprived  of  the  use  of  salt, 
and  were  compelled  to  eat  our  meat  without  the  savor  of 
this  luxury.  But  from  this  inconvenience  we  were  provi 
dentially  relieved,  for  during  one  of  our  hunting  excur 
sions  in  the  mountains,  Jack  Moulton  discovered  a  spring 
of  unusually  strong  salt  water.  This  spring  occupied 
the  centre  of  a  basin  several  acres  in  extent,  and  boiled 


22  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

up  in  a  perpendicular  jet  of  water  as  large  as  a  man's 
thigh,  and  ordinarily  rose  to  the  hight  of  five  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  earth ;  and  occasionally  a  jet  would 
rise  to  the  hight  of  ten  feet,  and  then  subside  to  its  Teg 
ular  motion.  What  was  most  remarkable  about  this 
spring  was,  that  all  the  ejected  water  returned  through 
the  orifice  from  which  it  was  expelled,  between  its  reg 
ular  jets.  In  fact,  it  seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  natural 
process  of  inhalation  and  respiration.  First  would  be 
the  jet,  propelled  by  some  subterranean  force,  and  then 
a  kind  of  suction,  that  carried  back  all  the  water,  which 
in  a  few  moments  more  was  again  ejected. 

Many  an  hour  have  I  spent  watching  this  wonderful 
curiosity  with  astonishment.  The  water,  although  al 
most  as  cold  as  ice,  was  strongly  impregnated  with  salt, 
and  by  means  of  tough  wooden  buckets,  constructed  by 
Thornton,  we  carried  it  a  distance  of  four  miles,  to  our 
camp,  and  used  it  in  the  seasoning  and  preservation  of 
our  meats.  The  mode  of  procuring  this  water  was  by 
placing  our  buckets  near  the  orifice  of  the  spring,  so  as 
to  get  a  portion  of  each  returning  jet,  and  in  a  very  few 
minutes  our  vessels  would  be  filled.  Our  meat  was 
cut  in  slices  and  deposited  in  layers,  in  a  large  trough, 
made  for  that  purpose,  upon  which  we  poured  an  ade 
quate  supply  of  this  brine,  which  was  sufficiently  strong 
to  preserve  it  from  taint  in  the  warmest  weather.  By 
exposing  a  small  quantity  of  this  water  to  the  action  of 
the  sun  for  a  few  days,  in  consequence  of  evaporation, 
crystalization  would  take  place. 

Fortune  also  smiled  upon  us  in  another  respect.     We 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  23 

had  by  this  time  become  very  tired  of  the  severe  drudgery 
incident  to  our  packing,  but,  as  a  remedy  for  this,  we 
knew  of  no  present  alternative.  But,  to  our  very  great 
surprise,  upon  our  return  to  camp  one  evening,  weary 
with  our  labor,  we  discovered,  grazing  upon  a  little 
knoll,  within  forty  rods  of  our  cabin,  a  horse.  Upon 
making  this  discovery  we  were  not  a  little  surprised, 
not  simply  because  we  had  seen  an  animal  of  this  kind, 
(for,  in  parts  of  this  country,  like  the  buffalo,  the  horse 
may  be  seen  in  vast  herds,  as  wild  as  deer,)  but  because 
this  animal  seemed  perfectly  gentle,  and  made  not  the 
least  effort  to  avoid  us.  He  seemed  well  stricken  in 
years,  and  exhibited  unmistakable  signs  of  rather  rough 
usage,  at  the  hand  of  some  person  who  was  evidently  no 
connoisseur  in  the  treatment  of  this  species  of  animal. 
His  back  was  sore,  one  eye  had  been  knocked  out,  and 
he  was  exceedingly  low  in  flesh.  Divers  were  our  con 
jectures  as  to  where  he  came  from  and  who  had  been  his 
master.  Moulton  finally  gave,  as  his  opinion,  that  this 
animal  belonged  to  some  roving  tribe  of  Indians  who 
might  inhabit  this  counrry,  and  that  he  had  somehow 
made  his  escape,  or,  in  consequence  of  his  reduced  con 
dition,  had  been  turned  out  to  die.  This  being  the  most 
reasonable  hypothesis,  we  all  received  it  as  being  correct. 
This  suggestion,  however,  was  not  the  most  agreeable  to 
our  feelings.  For  although  we  were  all  somewhat  ac 
quainted  with  Indian  manners  and  disposition,  yet  we 
regarded  our  force  as  rather  slender  to  strike  their  minds 
with  much  terror  in  case  of  an  unexpected  adventure  with 
them.  Besides,  we  were  entirely  unacquainted  with  the 


24  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

character  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  this  section  of 
country,  if  any  it  had,  and  therefore  we  felt  no  disposi 
tion  unnecessarily  to  put  ourselves  to  any  trouble,  either 
to  hunt  them  up  or  scrape  an  acquaintance  with  them. 
We  were  far  too  good  soldiers,  however,  to  be  fright 
ened  at  the  mere  appearance  of  possible  contingencies, 
and  our  prospects  were  too  flattering  to  permit  any 
thing  to  discourage  us  short  of  impossibilities.  We 
therefore  gave  no  encouragement  to  surmises  of  this 
kind,  and  drove  them  from  us  as  a  species  of  weakness 
unworthy  of  men  in  our  position.  Besides,  should 
worse  come  to  worst,  we  had  confidence  in  the  superior 
resources  which  we  supposed  we  could  bring  to  bear 
upon  the  savages  and  in  our  favor.  But  the  reader  will 
see,  from  the  sequel  of  this  work,  how  futile  were  all 
our  hopes  and  calculations.  The  old  horse,  (which  we 
subsequently  named  Killdeer,)  we  concluded  to  keep,  as 
a  prize  of  rare  value  to  us.  Accordingly,  we  took 
charge  of  him,  and  supplied  all  of  his  wants  with  the 
best  of  attention.  We  soon  found  him  a  very  import 
ant  member  of  our  family,  and  beloved  and  respected  by 
all.  He  proved  of  very  great  service  to  us,  in  bearing 
heavy  burdens,  which,  so  far  as  we  could  understand, 
was  cheerfully  performed. 

About  this  time,  on  visiting  our  traps,  one  of  them 
was  missing.  The  stake  to  which  it  had  been  attached, 
by  means  of  a  chain,  had  been  drawn  from  the  ground. 
On  making  farther  examination,  we  discovered  the 
tracks  of  a  huge  bear,  and  at  once  the  mystery  of  the 
missing  trap  was  solved.  The  bear  had  inadvertently 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  25 

placed  his  foot  in  the  trap,  which  he  presently  discov 
ered  become  a  fixture  thereto,  and,  by  way  of  gratifying 
his  sullen  revenge,  he  concluded  to  take  it  with  him,  as 
an  object  of  serious  contemplation  in  his  place  of  re 
tirement.  We  at  once  concluded  that  whatever  the 
bear  might  think  of  the  adventure,  we  could  by  no 
means  spare  the  trap,  and  having  discovered  his  trail, 
we  set  out  in  pursuit  of  him  ;  and,  owing  to  the  marks 
left  upon  the  ground  by  the  trap,  we  had  but  little  dif 
ficulty  in  following  him.  We  examined  our  rifles,  to  see 
they  were  in  good  order,  and  at  the  same  time  so  ad 
justed  our  knives  that  we  could  grasp  them  at  once  in 
case  of  necessity.  We  placed  Killdeer  in  charge  of 
Will  Thornton,  with  the  request  that  he  should  bring 
up  the  rear.  In  this  order,  we  continued  the  pursuit 
over  hills,  valleys,  and  mountains,  for  about  five  miles, 
when  we  came  upon  a  cluster  of  thick  undergrowth  of 
small  shrubs  and  vines,  into  which  the  trail  seemed  to 
lead.  We  stationed  Thornton  and  Killdeer  on  the  out 
side,  whilst  Moulton  and  myself  determined  to  pene 
trate  the  thicket,  being  satisfied  that  the  object  of  our 
pursuit  would  be  found  there,  reposing  himself  as 
comfortably  as  possible  for  one  in  his  particular  situa 
tion.  We  determined  to  keep  near  together,  so  that  in 
case  of  danger  to  either,  assistance  could  be  had  from 
the  other.  With  great  caution  we  entered  the  thicket, 
prepared  for  any  emergency  that  might  be  presented. 
Having  penetrated  to  perhaps  the  distance  of  thirty 
yards,  we  heard  a  hoarse,  suppressed  growl,  at  some 
distance  on  our  left.  Moving  a  few  paces  in  that  di- 
2 


26  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

rection,  we  were  enabled  to  see  our  enemy.  He  was  a 
grizzly,  of  formidable  size,  and  most  terrific  appearance, 
and  to  persons  unaccustomed  with  adventures  of  this 
kind,  he  would  have  been  an  object  too  formidable  for 
attack.  But  with  us  the  prize  was  too  great  to  think 
of  a  retreat,  when  so  much  depended  upon  the  issue. 
He  was  sitting  upon  his  haunches,  about  thirty  steps 
from  us,  holding  up  the  foot  to  which  the  trap  was  at 
tached — the  very  picture  of  distress,  rendered  terrible 
by  anger.  At  intervals  he  would  dash  the  trap  upon 
the  ground  with  great  force,  and  then,  as  though  the  pain 
was  too  great  for  endurance,  he  would  again  hold  it  up, 
as  if  he  were  reflecting  what  to  do  next.  Every  time 
he  struck  the  trap  upon  the  ground  he  growled  most 
hideously.  We  watched  his  movements  for  some  fifteen 
minutes,  when  we  concluded  it  was  time  to  bring  mat 
ters  to  a  crisis.  The  bear  was  as  yet  in  total  ignorance 
of  our  presence,  being  so  entirely  absorbed  with  his 
own  troubles,  that  he  paid  little  heed  to  aught  that  oc 
curred  around  him.  We  both  fired  at  once,  Moulton 
aiming  for  his  head,  and  I  for  the  region  of  the  heart. 
Upon  the  report  of  our  rifles,  he  made  a  tremendous 
lunge  forward,  at  the  same  time  emitting  a  most  start 
ling  snort,  and  made  directly  for  the  point  where  we 
were  standing.  It  was  now  painfully  evident  that  our 
balls  had  not  proved  fatal ;  and,  as  the  contest  now 
stood,  we  concluded  to  beat  a  retreat,  and  accordingly 
made  our  way  out  of  the  thicket  in  double  quick  time, 
reaching  the  open  space  only  a  few  rods  in  advance  of 
the  enraged  beast.  Our  intention  was,  on  gaining  the 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  2f 

open  ground,  in  case  the  bear  continued  the  pursuit,  to 
give  him  a  most  cordial  reception  at  the  point  of  our 
knives.  But  fate  had  decreed  otherwise ;  for,  just  at 
the  time,  and  at  the  point  where  we  emerged  from  the 
thicket,  we  met  Thornton,  astride  of  Killdeer;  having 
heard  the  report  of  our  rifles,  he  was  anxious  to  know 
the  result  of  the  contest,  and  was  in  the  act  of  making 
a  kind  of  circuitous  reconnoissance.  His  curiosity, 
however,  was  more  than  gratified  by  the  result.  "Upon 
discovering  Thornton  in  his  critical  position,  Moulton 
directed  him  to  hand  him  his  rifle,  and  then  to  make  the 
best  time  possible  in  order  to  make  his  escape  ;  which 
injunction  he  immediately  obeyed,  and,  putting  Killdeer 
to  his  utmost  speed,  (which  at  best  was  not  great,) 
struck  off  at  a  right  angle  across  the  plain.  It  so  hap 
pened  that  the  bear  emerged  from  the  thicket  imme 
diately  opposite  the  point  that  was  occupied  by  Thorn 
ton,  and,  without  turning  to  the  right  or  left,  continued 
the  pursuit  in  the  wake  of  Killdeer  and  of  his  rider, 
leaving  Moulton  and  myself  a  few  paces  to  the  left. 
Thornton,  on  looking  back  and  seeing  the  danger  to 
which  he  was  exposed,  spared  no  effort  to  keep  Kill- 
deer  up  to  the  top  of  his  speed;  not  only  the  whip,  but 
his  heels  were  most  vigorously  applied,  in  order  to  con 
vince  the  poor  brute  that  time  was  precious  and  the 
danger  imminent.  But  Killdeer  (like  some  of  Adam's 
posterity)  had  lived  long  enough  to  know  that  the 
world  was  not  to  be  taken  by  storm,  and  consequently 
refused  to  exert  himself  to  any  remarkable  extent. 
The  scene  was  exceedingly  ludicrous  !  Some  forty 


28  FIVE   YEAES   A   CAPTIVE 

yards  in  advance  was  Thornton  and  Killdeer,  the  for 
mer  having  lost  his  hat  in  his  desire  to  escape  from  the 
enemy,  and  using  extraordinary  efforts  to  urge  the  latter 
forward,  whilst  the  horse  seemed  in  no  way  disposed  to 
exert  himself  beyond  a  certain  point  habitual  with  him, 
and  the  bear,  incommoded  as  he  was  by  the  trap,  and 
evidently  seriously  injured  by  the  two  shots  he  had  re 
ceived  in  the  thicket,  continuing  the  pursuit,  at  a  pace 
by  no  means  rapid  !  Both  Moulton  and  myself  laughed 
heartily  at  the  picture,  in  spite  of  the  seriousness  of  its 
real  character.  Deeming  it  prudent,  however,  to  form 
a  third  party  in  the  drama,  we  set  off  at  a  rapid  rate  in 
the  wake  of  the  bear,  determined,  whatever  the  result 
might  be,  to  participate  in  its  parts.  It  soon  became 
evident,  however,  that  neither  Thornton  nor  Killdeer 
was  in  immediate  danger,  for  the  bear's  speed  was  evi 
dently  declining,  and  before  he  had  gone  three  hundred 
yards  he  gave  up  the  chase  altogether,  and  sought  the 
shelter  of  a  shady  copse.  When  we  came  up  with  him, 
he  showed  but  little  inclination  to  renew  the  contest,  and 
it  was  evident  that,  in  consequence  of  the  profuse  loss  of 
blood,  his  life  was  fast  passing  away.  And  in  the  next 
hour  he  expired,  without  any  additional  effort  on  our 
part.  Moulton's  ball  had  penetrated  his  head  a  little 
below  the  ear,  and  my  own  had  grazed  his  heart.  And 
yet,  such  is  the  tenacity  of  life  in  this  animal,  that,  al 
though  either  of  these  shots  would  have  proved  fatal  to 
almost  any  other  animal,  with  him  for  a  time  they  only 
served  to  kindle  his  terrible  wrath.  Thornton  having 
discovered,  finally,  that  he  was  in  no  great  danger,  and 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  29 

that  the  bear  had  given  up  the  chase  entirely,  reined  up 
his  courser,  and,  ultimately,  ventured  back  and  joined 
us  around  the  fallen  foe.  Jack  and  I  passed  a  great 
many  jests  at  Will's  expense  when  he  came  up,  and 
represented  to  him  the  novelty  of  the  picture  that  he 
and  Killdeer  made  in  escaping  from  the  bear.  Will 
took  our  jests  in  good  part,  and  said  that  he  saw  two 
other  persons,  in  coming  from  the  thicket,  who  formed 
quite  as  ridiculous  a  group  as  he  and  Killdeer  did,  he 
had  no  doubt.  This  bear,  as  he  lay  upon  the  ground 
before  us,  was  a  sight  that  would  have  attracted  atten 
tion  any  where.  He  measured,  in  length,  nine  feet  and 
eight  inches  ;  and  his  foreleg,  at  the  wrist,  measured  in 
circumference  thirteen  inches.  He  was  the  very  picture 
of  great  vitality  and  strength,  and,  we  all  supposed,  if 
put  upon  the  scales,  would  weigh  at  least  one  thousand 
pounds.  We  soon  stripped  from  the  carcass  its  hide, 
and,  having  lashed  it  upon  the  back  of  Killdeer,  set  off 
for  camp. 

We  had  now  occupied  our  -new  quarters  for  nearly 
three  months,  and  had  met  with  no  obstacle  in  the  least 
calculated  to  discourage  us.  Upon  the  contrary,  for 
tune  seemed  to  smile  upon  us  in  a  remarkable  manner, 
our  success  in  hunting  and  trapping  had  been  prosper 
ous  beyond  our  most  sanguine  anticipations,  and,  had 
no  untoward  events  occurred,  we  were  certainly  in  a 
fair  way  to  become,  in  a  comparatively  brief  period, 
pecuniarily  independent. 

But,  alas  !  for  the  bright  hopes  of  mortality  !  All 
our  sanguine  anticipations  were  on  the  eve  of  being  for- 


30  FIVE   YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

ever  blasted;  and  we  ourselves  were  soon  to  fall  a 
prey  to  savage  brutality  ! 

We  had  already  secured  fur  and  peltries  sufficient  to 
realize  in  the  London  market  several  thousand  dollars, 
and  instead  of  any  diminution  in  our  success,  the  re 
verse  was  the  fact.  We  had,  within  the  last  few  days, 
moved  a  part  of  our  traps  from  the  tributary  to  the 
Missouri  river,  and  the  change  had  thus  far  been 
crowned  with  unprecedented  success.  Our  hopes  were 
high  and  our  spirits  buoyant.  Up  to  this  time,  since 
our  arrival  in  this  country,  our  health  had  been  perfect, 
none  of  us  having  been  sick  an  hour. 

The  country  we  regarded  as  exceedingly  healthy,  and 
found  it,  as  far  as  our  observation  went,  exceedingly 
pleasant.  Diversified  with  hills,  mountains  and  valleys, 
at  once  bold,  romantic  and  beautiful,  causing  the  heart 
to  swell  almost  instinctively  with  thoughts  of  adoration 
toward  that  Being  who  thus  spreads  before  the  beholder 
scenes  that,  in  their  wild  and  primitive  grandeur,  so 
far  surpass  the  magnificence  of  kings,  and  all  the  pro 
gress  of  civilization. 

The  rivers  and  the  lesser  streams  of  water  are  clear, 
and  run  off  with  a  rapid  current ;  thus  effectually  drain 
ing  the  country.  The  valleys  are  rich,  and  appear  ex 
tremely  productive.  The  sides  of  the  mountains,  as  a 
general  feature,  are*  thickly  studded  with  large  and 
vigorous  timber. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  third  day  of  October,  whilst 
engaged  in  a  hunting  excursion  on  one  of  the  small 
branches  of  the  Missouri,  we  recognized  in  the  sand  the 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  31 

tracks  of  several  human  feet,  of  apparently  recent  date. 
The  tracks  were  those  of  full-grown  men  of  large  size, 
bare-footed,  and  appeared  to  be  going  in  the  direction 
of  our  camp. 

It  was  now  evident  that  there  were  other  inhabitants 
(or,  at  least,  sojourners,)  in  this  country,  besides  our 
selves  ;  and  it  required  no  great  stretch  of  the  imagi 
nation  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  they  were  Indians, 
and  perhaps  of  a  very  hostile  character. 

Our  equanimity  was  somewhat  disturbed  in  conse 
quence  of  this  discovery,  and  we  thought  it  at  least 
prudent  to  keep  an  eye  open  for  this  new  species  of 
game,  which  we  now  thought  it  possible  we  might,  ere 
long,  have  to  contend  with. 

After  our  day's  work  was  completed,  we  returned  to 
camp,  as  usual,  and  found  every  thing  in  its  proper 
place,  and  apparently  secure. 

At  our  usual  time  we  retired  to  rest,  and  were  soon 
asleep.  Our  sleep  was  sound  and  undisturbed  until 
about  the  time  day  began  to  dawn,  at  which  time  our 
ears  were  saluted  by  a  perfect  din  of  hooting,  howling, 
and  shouting,  resembling,  more  than  any  thing  else,  the 
imaginative  discords  of  the  infernal  regions. 

We  had  no  difficulty  at  all  in  understanding  correctly 
the  true  nature  of  the  case.  We  were  evidently  sur 
rounded  by  a  band  of  savages,  and,  from  present  ap 
pearances,  the  chances  were  against  us.  I  peeped 
through  a  crack  and  took  a  hasty  survey  of  our  visitors, 
whose  appearance  to  me  was  horrid  in  the  extreme. 
They  were  nearly  naked,  and  painted  in  the  most  fan- 


32  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

tastic  style — dancing,  yelling,  and  throwing  their  bodies 
in  all  kinds  of  contortions.  I  withdrew  from  the  sight, 
sick  at  heart. 

But  something  must  be  done;  for  it  was  evident, 
from  their  manner  and  the  display  of  their  weapons, 
that  they  were  bent  on  mischief,  and  the  probability  was 
that  they  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  our 
lives.  Will  Thornton  and  myself  were  in  favor  of  using 
our  rifles  for  their  benefit,  which  we  could  have  done 
with  fatal  effect  through  some  of  the  crevices  of  our 
lodge.  But  Moulton  would  not  consent  to  it,  as  he 
thought  it  would  only  have  the  effect  to  enrage  the 
savages,  and  thereby  increase  our  peril.  For,  although 
we  might  dispose  of  /a  few  in  this  way,  it  was  not  possi 
ble  that,  by  the  use  of  three  rifles,  we  could  resist  the 
vengeance  of  at  least  fifty  enraged  savages. 

Moulton's  plan  was  to  give  them  a  friendly  reception, 
make  them  some  presents,  and  show  no  signs  of  fear 
whatever.  Although  I  doubted  the  success  of  this 
plan  upon  the  savages  with  whom  we  had  to  deal,  yet, 
as  Moulton  was  older  and  had  more  experience  in  In 
dian  intercourse  than  either  Thornton  or  myself,  we 
yielded  the  point  ;  which  yielding  I  have  regretted, 
times  without  number,  since. 

We  accordinly  threw  open  our  door,  and,  with  some 
venison  and  trinkets  in  our  hands,  boldly  advanced  to 
ward  them  in  the  attitude  of  friendship.  As  soon  as 
these  demonstrations  were  made  on  our  part,  a  profound 
silence  ensued  amongst  the  dusky  barbarians  of  the 
forest.  They  crowded  around  us,  but  not  a  word  was 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  33 

uttered  by  one  of  them.  They  regarded  us  with  ap 
parent  amazement  for  about  ten  minutes,  when  a  dark 
figure,  of  gigantic  size,  with  bow  and  arrow  in  hand, 
approached  us  in  front  and  accepted  our  trinkets. 
After  thoroughly  examining  them,  he  made  such  a  dis 
tribution  of  them  as  seemed  satisfactory  to  himself  and 
them ;  after  which '  he  distributed  the  venison  in  the 
same  way,  which  soon  disappeared  with  something  like 
the  relish  one  would  expect  to  find  among  cannibals, 
whose  appetites  had  been  on  parole  for  a  month. 

We  made  use  of  every  device  in  our  power  to  convince 
them  that  we  were  disposed  to  friendship ;  but  they 
seemed  either  not  to  understand  us  or  not  to  heed  us  ; 
and  although  they  as  yet  showed  no  disposition  to  mal 
treat  us,  yet  there  was  an  ominous  scowl  upon  their 
features,  which  made  my  blood  curdle  back  upon  my 
heart. 

In  this  way  they  loitered  about  our  camp  until  about 
one  o'clock,  when  the  same  powerful  savage  who  had 
accepted  our  presents  deliberately  advanced  to  the 
entrance  of  our  lodge,  and  was  in  the  act  of  entering, 
when  Moulton  motioned  him  to  desist.  Without  a 
word,  or  dissatisfied  gesture,  on  his  part,  he  returned  to 
the  spot  where  the  others  were  sitting;  and,  after  a 
few  moments'  silence,  every  Indian  sprang  to  his*  feet, 
making  the  solitude  ring  with  their  hideous  yells. 

Now  commenced  a  scene  beyond  my  powers  of  de 
scription.  They  simultaneously  made  a  rush  for  the 
door  of  our  lodge,  and  in  their  haste  to  enter  pulled  the 
door  from  its  hinges,  and  having  gained  admittance,  they 


34  FIVE  YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

seized  Moulton,  Thornton,  and  myself,  and  dragged  us 
from  the  lodge;  and  placing  us  under  the  guard  of  ten 
other  savages,  again  returned  to  the  cabin,  preceded  by 
the  large  Indian  who  had  first  made  the  attempt  to 
enter.  (This  Indian  I  subsequently  learned  was  the 
chief  of  the  tribe.) 

They  then  sacked  and  appropriated  to  their  own  use 
not  only  the  furs  and  peltries,  but  every  thing  else  they 
could  lay  their  hands  upon.  Our  stock  of  meat,  axes, 
and  rifles  all  shared  the  same  fate. 

Having  thus  completed  this  part  of  the  business,  they 
returned  to  the  place  where  we  were  held  as  prisoners ; 
and  here  the  chief  distributed  the  booty,  retaining  for 
his  own  use  that  which  he  considered  most  valuable. 

We  had  hoped,  after  thus  plundering  us,  the  savages 
would  at  least  leave  us  to  enjoy  all  the  comfort  to  be 
found  in  our  destitution.  But  in  this  we  were  doomed 
to  sad  disappointment ;  for  no  sooner  had  the  distri 
bution  been  completed,  than,  in  obedience  to  what  we 
supposed  to  be  a  command  from  the  chief,  four  Indians 
set  about  stripping  the  clothes  off  of  us.  To  this  in 
dignity  we  made  some  resistance — which,  however,  did 
but  little  good,  for  we  were  dashed  upon  the  ground, 
and  our  clothes  literally  torn  from  us,  and  appropriated 
to  the  use  of  the  chief. 

In  this  condition,  entirely  naked,  without  even  shoes 
or  hats,  the  party  set  off  in  a  southerly  direction,  two 
Indians  guarding  each  one  of  us,  and  at  times  making 
use  of  harsh  means  to  urge  us  along. 

I  must  not  forget  to  mention  that  Killdeer  was  no  ex- 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  35 

ception  to  the  general  devastation  that  took  place  at  our 
camp.  One  of  the  savages,  with  the  utmost  coolness 
and  nonchalance,  loosed  him  from  his  fastening,  and 
mounting  upon  his  back,  accompanied  us. 

Our  three  rifles  and  our  hunting-knives  were  entrusted 
by  the  chief  to  the  care  of  an  Indian,  who  appeared 
about  sixty  years  old,  and  from  the  manner  in  which  he 
handled  the  guns,  we  readily  concluded  that  he  was  ig 
norant  of  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  used.  Nei 
ther  Moulton's  or  Thornton's  were  loaded,  however,  as 
they  had  cleaned  them  on  the  previous  evening,  and 
carelessly  neglected  to  charge  them. 

Where  we  were  going,  or  what  would  be  the  result  of 
this  disastrous  incident  in  our  history,  of  course  we 
could  only  conjecture.  But  that  this  adventure  would 
be  one  of  peace  and  pleasure,  we  had  not  the  most  re 
mote  idea.  As  matters  now  stood,  we  supposed,  if  we 
were  not  devoured  by  the  musquitoes,  the  probability 
was  that  we  should  perish  with  cold  and  exposure. 
But  as  there  seemed  to  be  no  present  help  for  our  un 
fortunate  condition,  we  concluded  to  make  the  best  of 
it,  and  bear  it  with  becoming  fortitude. 


36  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 


C  HAPTER    III. 

MAN  is,  in  a  great  degree,  a  creature  of  circumstances. 
And  perhaps  it  is  well  that  he  is  so,  for  otherwise,  in 
many  instances,  life  would  be  almost  unendurable.  The 
true  philosophy  of  human  life  upon  this  subject  is,  to 
graduate  our  feelings  and  desires  as  entirely  as  possible 
to  the  actual  condition  of  surrounding  circumstances, 
(always  keeping  on  the  side  of  virtue,  truth,  and  duty,) 
and  the  greater  the  facility  with  which  this  is  accom 
plished,  the  happier  we  are  likely  to  become.  For  it  is 
wicked  folly  in  man  to  contend  against  the  dealings  of 
Providence,  or  complain  at  the  ways  of  the  great  All- 
Father,  because  we  cannot  understand  them.  In  our 
present  unenviable  condition,  we  felt  resigned  to  bear 
every  indignity  that  our  captors  thought  proper  to  heap 
upon  us,  with  Christian  fortitude  ;  yet  intending  to  avail 
ourselves  of  such  means  of  escape  (as  we  hoped)  Prov 
idence  might  place  within  our  power.  As  yet,  we  were 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the 
savages  into  whose  hands  we  had  fallen  ;  but  that  they 
were  barbarians,  and  of  a  vicious  character,  we  had 
much  evidence,  sufficient  at  least  to  believe. 

It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  we 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  3t 

left  our  camp  with  our  Indian  captors  ;  and  having 
traveled,  as  we  supposed,  about  fifteen  miles,  we  called  a 
halt,  and  camped  for  the  night.  The  order  of  the  march 
was  as  follows  :  My  companions  and  I  were  placed  in 
front,  each  of  us  guarded  on  either  side  by  an  Indian, 
and  the  rear  was  then  brought  up  by  the  remainder  of 
the  savages.  During  the  march  there  was  but  little 
said,  but  we  were  urged  forward  at  a  greater  speed  than 
had  been  habitual  with  us,  and  we  suffered  no  small 
amount  of  pain,  from  the  tenderness  of  our  feet,  in 
passing  over  stones,  brush,  and  almost  everything  else. 
And,  as  the  nights  were  now  getting  quite  cold,  we 
shivered  for  the  want  of  clothing.  Having  struck  a  fire 
by  means  of  flints,  my  two  companions  and  myself  were 
securely  bound  to  stakes,  by  means  of  willow  cords, 
about  ten  feet  from  the  fire.  Our  positions,  as  regarded 
each  other,  were  about  five  feet  apart ;  our  arms  were 
bound  together  around  the  wrists,  behind  our  backs ; 
and  then  a  strong  cord  was  passed  around  our  legs  and 
the  post,  and  firmly  fastened,  so  that  it  was  difficult 
for  us  to  occupy  any  other  position  than  that  of  stand 
ing,  or  squatting  down  upon  our  haunches.  The  cords, 
made  of  willow  shoots,  platted  together,  were  hard  and 
unyielding,  and  were  so  tightly  drawn  around  our  arms 
and  legs,  as  to  give  us  indescribable  pain ;  which,  added 
to  our  suffering  from  the  coldness  of  the  night,  rendered 
our  condition  truly  pitiable.  The  Indians  sat  by  the 
fire,  by  turns,  and  guarded  us  all  night,  with  the  closest 
vigilance,  for,  on  the  least  noise  made  by  one  of  us  in 
changing  our  position,  their  attention  would  be  im 
mediately  directed  to  us. 


•38  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

Our  singular  condition,  and  the  misery  we  were  en 
during,  was  sufficient  to  drive  all  thoughts  of  sleep  from 
us.  The  only  consolation  that  we  had  left  us  was,  that 
we  could  talk  to  each  other  without  being  understood 
by  our  captors.  This  they  permitted  without  any  ap 
parent  suspicion,  although  our  language  seemed  to  strike 
their  ears  as  something  very  ludicrous,  as  they  would 
talk,  gesticulate,  and  sometimes  laugh  outright,  upon 
hearing  our  conversation.  Finding  there  was  no  means 
of  escape  on  the  present  occasion,  owing  to  the  vigilance 
of  our  guard,  various  plans  were  suggested  for  future 
attempts,  none  of  which,  however,  were  carried  out  by 
us.  Prior  to  securing  us  to  our  stakes  for  the  night, 
the  Indians  offered  us  some  uncooked  flesh  to  eat,  but 
our  appetites  were  not  yet  sufficiently  sharp  to  adopt 
this  mode  of  satisfying  hunger.  Our  captors,  however, 
with  the  zest  of  hungry  bears,  devoured  it  in  this  raw 
state,  without  a  particle  of  salt,  or  anything  else,  to 
modify  its  freshness. 

Such  was  the  pain  we  suffered  and  the  misery  we  en 
dured,  that  we  eagerly  longed  for  the  appearance  of  day 
light  again,  that  our  sufferings  might  be  mitigated,  if 
but  for  an  hour.  Indeed,  this  night  seemed  almost  a 
life-time  to  us.  At  length,  daylight  began  to  appear 
in  the  east,  and  the  sleeping  savages  were  aroused  by 
their  nodding  companions,  who  were  still  trying  to  keep 
guard.  For  some  time  after  they  were  awakened,  the 
Indians  loitered  listlessly  about  the  camp.  About  sun 
rise,  the  chief,  accompanied  by  four  others,  approached 
us  and  loosed  us  from  the  stakes ;  at  the  same  time  re- 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  39 

moving  the  cords  from  our  arms.  Our  limbs  were  very 
much  swollen  and  inflamed  where  the  cords  had  bound 
them,  and  for  a  time  we  thought  we  could  not  walk  at 
all ;  but  by  a  little  exercise  we  felt  better,  although  very 
much  crippled. 

We  were  again  placed  under  charge  of  the  same  six 
Indians  who  had  conducted  us  from  the  first ;  and  after 
again  offering  us  an  uncooked  breakfast,  which  was  not 
only  offensive  to  our  sight,  but  was  equally  disgusting 
to  our  olfactory  organs,  they  proceeded  to  satisfy  their 
own  appetites,  by  eagerly  devouring  the  filthy  mass  like 
starving  wolves,  and  then  set  about  preparing  for  their 
march.  During  this  interval,  we  seated  ourselves  upon 
a  log,  glad  to  enjoy  a  moment  of  rest,  as  we  had  ob 
tained  neither  rest  or  sleep  during  the  past  night.  We 
were  very  weak,  also,  from  exhaustion  consequent  on  a 
want  of  food,  but  saw  no  help  for  the  many  ills  with 
which  we  were  surrounded.  We  had  but-little  time,  how 
ever,  to  give  to  gloomy  forebodings  on  our  helpless  con 
dition,  for  soon  the  word  was  given,  and  we  were  marched 
off  in  the  same  order  followed  on  the  first  day.  We 
found  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  move  with  sufficient 
speed  to  satisfy  the  humor  of  our  captors ;  and  in 
order  to  urge  us  forward  at  a  more  rapid  rate,  we  were 
from  time  to  time  pricked  in  the  back  with  a  kind  of 
spear,  pointed  with  bone,  and  tapering  to  a  point.  By 
means  of  these  instruments  of  torture,  in  the  hands  of 
the  fiends  who  drove  us,  before  night  the  blood  was 
trickling  from  our  backs  to  our  heels.  And  what  ren 
dered  our  condition  still  worse,  they  made  no  halt  at 


40  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

noon,  but  urged  us  forward  without  a  moment  of  rest 
from  the  time  of  starting  in  the  morning  until  the  even 
ing  twilight. 

From  this  statement  of  facts,  the  reader  may  have 
some  faint  idea  of  the  suffering  we  had  thus  far  endured. 
But  it  is  beyond  the  range  of  possibility  to  realize 
(without  some  similar  experience)  any  thing  like  an 
adequate  idea  of  our  misery  during  this  and  the  follow 
ing  day.  Our  feet  were  raw  and  bleeding — our  backs 
were  literally  perforated  by  the  point  of  the  spears,  so 
that  they  were  covered  with  blood  ;  thus  forming  a  com 
plete  point  of  attraction  for  the  musquitoes,  (which  still 
hovered  around  us  during  the  warm  part  of  the  day.) 
We  had  eaten  nothing  for  thirty-six  hours,  nor  had  our 
inhuman  captors,  during  our  march,  permitted  us  to 
slake  our  thirst  at  the  running  brook,  as  we  passed  along. 
Our  camp  was  formed,  on  this  occasion,  near  a  stream 
that  empties  into  the  Missouri,  amidst  what  would  (un 
der  other  circumstances)  have  seemed  a  beautiful  grove 
of  timber. 

After  halting  for  the  night,  we  were  permitted,  in 
company  with  our  guard,  to  go  to  the  stream  and  drink, 
and,  as  we  were  almost  perishing  with  thirst,  the  reader 
may  judge  with  what  eagerness  we  plunged  in  and 
quenched  this  almost  intolerable  craving,  regardless  of 
consequences.  A  fire  was  kindled  by  the  savages,. and 
we  were  again  offered  meat,  not  only  raw,  but  otherwise 
offensive,  and  to  our  appetites,  forbidding.  By  signs, 
we  asked  permission  to  broil  it  over  the  fire  ;  but  to 
this  reasonable  request  they  signified  their  dissent.  We 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS,  41 

then  requested  them  to  broil  it  for  us,  but  this  they  also 
refused  to  do.  Seeing  starvation  staring  us  in  the  face 
unless  we  ate  something,  I  took  a  piece,  and  begged 
Jack  and  Will  to  sup  with  me ;  but,  on  putting  it  to 
our  mouths,  our  stomachs  rebelled,  and  refused  to  receive 
the  unsavory  morsel.  Starvation,  although  a  horrid 
death,  was  preferable  (in  our  opinion)  to  such  a  mode 
of  existence.  Indeed,  such  was  our  miserable  situation, 
that  we  were  in  no  condition  to  eat  food,  even  of  a 
much  more  tempting  kind.  *  We  were  exhausted  to  the 
last  degree  ;  and  unless  a  kind  Providence,  by  some  ex 
traordinary  means,  interfered  in  our  behalf,  we  saw  no 
thing  before  us  but  death,  in  its  most  repulsive  form. — 
For,  leaving  violence  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians  out  of 
the  question,  we  had  no  idea  that  our  constitutions  would 
bear  up  under  the  fatigues  of  another  such  day  and 
night  as  we  had  just  passed.  Stakes  were  driven  into 
the  ground,  and  we  were  attached  to  them  in  the  same 
manner  that  we  were  on  the  night  previous.  We  im 
plored  them,  as  best  we  could,  by  signs,  not  to  bind  us 
so  tightly  as  they  had  done  ;  but  this  only  excited  their 
brutal  mirth,  and  they  drew  the  cords  quite  as  tightly 
as  before. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  the  agonizing  pain  we 
endured  during  the  long  hours  of  this  night.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  we  bore  all  of  which  human  nature  is  capa 
ble,  but  actual  death ;  and,  much  as  this  is  dreaded  in 
the  general  way,  to  us  it  would  have  been  a  relief.  For 
some  time  before  the  dawn  of  day,  Moulton  and  I  had 
serious  misgivings  as  to  whether  Thornton  could  live  to 
2* 


42  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

see  the  light  of  another  day.  His  constitution  had  never 
been  rugged  ;  he  was  of  a  spare,  light  frame,  incapable 
of  great  physical  endurance — consequently,  his  suffer 
ing  was  indescribable.  At  times  he  would  weep  like  a 
child,  and  again,  at  other  times,  he  would  be  frantic  and 
rave  like  a  maniac.  Moulton  and  myself,  in  the  midst 
of  our  own  calamities,  endeavored  to  encourage  him, 
but  to  no  purpose — his  reason  had  staggered  under  his 
hard  fate,  and  we  feared  much  it  would  never  be  re 
instated.  About  an  hour  before  daylight,  he  sunk  away 
in  a  swoon,  and  pitched  forward  on  his  face  and  knees, 
in  which  condition  he  remained  entirely  unconscious, 
until  he  was  released  in  the  morning. 

We  were  guarded  by  the  same  number  of  Indians 
that  we  were  on  the  previous  nights,  who  kept  a  vigilant 
eye  upon  us  the  whole  of  this.  This  watching,  however, 
was  entirely  gratuitous,  as  we  could  not  have  made  our 
escape,  had  every  obstacle  been  removed.  At  length, 
the  sun  shed  his  rays  athwart  the  eastern  horizon,  and  if 
we  hailed  with  gratitude  the  dawn  of  yesterday,  be  as 
sured,  dear  reader,  our  humble  thankfulness  was  not 
diminished  this  morning.  But  again  these  thoughts 
were  speedily  dissipated  by  those  of  a  more  gloomy 
character.  We  had  every  reason  to  expect  that  an 
other  day's  journey  lay  before  us,  similar  to  the  one  we 
had  just  passed,  and  perhaps  several  of  them,  (if  .na 
ture  bore  the  load,)  for  as  to  the  question  of  wnen  or 
where  we  were  to  stop,  we  were  in  total  ignorance  ;  as 
well  as  to  what  disposition  the  savages  intended  ulti 
mately  to  make  of  us.  Of  one  thing,  however,  we  felt 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  43 

certain,  that  if  our  poor  friend  was  not  already  dead,  he 
would  not  be  able  to  follow  us — in  which  event, we  had 
a  tolerably  definite  idea  of  his  fate ;  and  we  felt  that 
we  could  almost  pray  that  he  might  not  again  revive  to 
consciousness. 

After  the  savages  had  all  aroused  themselves,  several 
of  them  approached  and  released  us  from  our  places  of 
torment.  Moulton  and  I  found  it  exceedingly  difficult 
to  move  one  foot  after  the  other.  Our  legs  and  wrists 
were  much  worse  swollen  than  ever  before.  Besides, 
the  soreness  caused  by  the  exposure  of  our  feet,  and  the 
pricking  of  our  backs,  was  excessive.  When  the  cords 
were  removed  from  Thornton,  he  made  no  effort  to  get 
up,  but  continued  in  the  same  position  that  he  had  oc 
cupied  for  the  last  hour.  We  supposed  that  he  was 
dead,  but  upon  closer  examination,  we  found  that  he 
breathed.  Moulton  then  lifted  him  as  tenderly  as  pos 
sible,  and  laid  him  on  his  back.  In  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes,  he  slowly  revived,  and  sat  up  ;  but  his 
nervous  system  seemed  entirely  paralyzed,  and  the  light 
of  reason  extinguished.  He  gazed  around  him  in  a 
wild  and  excited  manner,  and  when  we  endeavored  to 
talk  to  him,  we  could  get  no  reply  from  him.  Moulton 
.and  I  took  him  by  the  arms  and  endeavoured  to  lift  him 
to  his  feet,  but  he  seemed  to  have  lost  the  use  of  his 
limbs.  Whilst  these  efforts  were  being  made  on  our 
part,  in  a  vain  attempt  to  relieve  poor  Will,  the  Indians 
had  collected  together,  and  kept  up  a  constant  jabber, 
with  a  fiendish  laugh  occasionally  ringing  out,  as  if  our 

perplexity,  and  Thornton's  sufferings,  afforded  them 
great  amusement. 


44  FIVE    YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

We  were  again  supplied  with  meat,  and  by  doing 
violence  to  nature,  forced  upon  our  stomachs  a  small 
quantity  of  the  loathsome  aliment.  When  Thornton 
was  offered  his  portion,  he  paid  no  attention  to  it,  and 
the  Indian  dropped  it  upon  the  ground  before  him,  and 
then  walked  away.  The  savages  having  disposed  of 
their  breakfast,  began  to  collect  their  effects  together, 
preparatory  to  the  commencement  of  the  day's  journey. 

Matters  now  approached  a  crisis,  as  far  as  Thornton 
was  concerned ;  for  we  knew  he  could  not  follow  us,  and 
we  very  naturally  supposed  that  he  would  be  either  mur 
dered,  or  left  behind  us  to  perish  alone  in  the  forest.  In 
our  anxiety  for  Thornton's  fate,  we  partially  forgot  our 
own  misfortunes.  We  again  endeavored  to  talk  with  him, 
but  with  no  better  success  than  before.  He  would  gaze 
at  us  in  the  most  pitiable  manner,  but  would  not  utter 
a  word.  Our  guard  now  approached  and  informed  us 
that  they  were  ready  to  set  off.  We  tried  to  convince 
them  by  signs  that  Will  was  sick  and  unable  to  travel, 
and  that  a  day's  rest  was  necessary  to  restore  him  to 
health.  But  they  treated  our  suggestions  with  con 
temptuous  jeers  and  savage  grimaces.  Although  our  own 
condition  was  pitiable,  yet  our  indignation  was  aroused 
almost  beyond  control  at  the  fate  of  our  unfortunate 
friend,  and  could  we  have  had  our  guns,  we  would  at 
least  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  laying  a  couple  of  the 
savages  dead  at  our  feet,  and  perhaps  ending  at  once 
the  whole  scene. 

The  same  guard  who  had  conducted  him  heretofore, 
violently  seized  him  by  the  arms  and  jerked  him  to  his 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  45 

feet,  and  then  relinquishing  their  hold,  let  him  drop  to 
the  ground.  This  inhuman  act  they  repeated  three  or 
four  times,  greatly  to  their  amusement.  During  this 
time  the  Indians  had  all  collected  to  see  and  enjoy  what 
they  seemed  to  regard  as  rare  amusement.  After  a  few 
moments,  the  chief  and  all  the  other  savages,  except 
those  who  were  guarding  us,  retired  a  short  distance 
from  us,  and  held  a  council ;  and  in  the  course  of  some 
twenty  minutes,  returned.  The  chief  gave  an  order  to 
the  two  men  who  had  Thornton  in  charge,  which  was 
no  sooner  uttered  than  they  seized  him  by  the  feet,  and 
running  at  the  top  of  their  speed,  dragged  him  upon 
his  back  to  the  distance  of  thirty  yards ;  and  then, 
wheeling  short  upon  their  path,  returned  in  the  same  way. 

Whilst  these  inhuman  events  were  in  progress,  the 
other  savages  set  up  a  most  deafening  howl,  dancing  and 
throwing  their  bodies  into  almost  every  conceivable 
attitude.  When  they  returned  with  him,  he  scarcely 
showed  any  signs  of  life.  By  this  barbarous  treatment, 
.  the  skin  was  entirely  torn  from  his  back,  and  the  blood 
was  oozing  freely.  His  flesh  was  quivering  upon  his 
Climbs,  which  was  the  only  evidence  he  gave  of  con 
sciousness  to  external  events.  He  seemed  to  be  en 
during  the  last  agonies  of  mortality.  We  could  render 
him  no  aid,  although  our  sympathies  were  intensely 
aroused  in  his  behalf.  We  felt  greatly  relieved  by  the 
reflection,  that  the  very  intensity  of  his  suffering  was 
shortening  its  duration,  and  were  thankfu],  that  he  was 
so  near  the  end. 

Upon  looking  up,  we  noticed  several  Indians  collect- 


46  FIVE   YEAES  A   CAPTIVE 

ing  wood  and  piling  it  upon  the  fire,  which  they  con 
tinued  until  they  had  heaped  together  quite  a  pile.  We 
at  once  suspected  the  object  of  this  strange  proceeding. 
After  this  was  accomplished,  the  same  two  Indians  who 
had  hitherto  attended  him  dragged  him  to  the  pile  of 
wood,  (which  was  now  beginning  to  burn  furiously,)  and 
one  of  them  taking  him  by  the  arms,  and  the  other  by 
the  legs,  after  having  first  scalped  him,  threw  him  upon 
the  pile,  as  though  he  were  some  wild  animal.  In  the 
interval,  the  chief  inquired  of  us  for  his  arms  or  imple 
ments  of  war.  We  pointed  him  to  his  gun,  hunting- 
knife,  shot-bag,  &c.  These  the  chief  took  and  threw 
upon  the  pile  by  his  side  ;  after  which,  the  savages,  with 
their  bows  and  arrows  in  their  hands,  and  all  their  im 
plements  of  war  attached  to  their  persons,  commenced 
a  regular  stampede  dance  around  the  funeral  pile  of 
poor  Thornton.  During  this  ceremony,  they  would 
dance,  leap,  hoot,  sing,  and  contort  their  bodies  into 
every  possible  attitude.  The  head  of  the  chief  during 
the  same  time  was  decked  with  a  profusion  of  feathers, 
and  upon  his  feet  he  wore  a  singularly  wrought  pair  of 
moccasins.  This  barbarous  ceremony  was  continued 
until  the  fire  ignited  the  powder  contained  in  Will's 
flask,  (which  the  chief  had  placed,  with  his  other  muni 
tions  of  war,  upon  the  pile  to  be  consumed  with  him,) 
and  exploding,  made  a  considerable  report,  looming 
up  in  a  column  of  fire  more  than  ten  feet  above  the  pile. 
When  the  explosion  occurred,  every  Indian  dropped  in 
stantly  upon  the  ground,  as  though  they  had  been  shot ; 
and  after  remaining  in  that  position  for  a  few  moments, 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  41 

they  noiselessly  raised  to  their  feet,  and,  going  about  five 
rods  from  the  fire,  seated  themselves  upon  the  ground 
without  uttering  a  word.  They  were  evidently  per 
plexed  in  their  efforts  to  comprehend  this  phenomena ; 
and  like  all  other  savages,  being  very  superstitious,  their 
fears  were  evidently  wrought  upon.  The  odor  of  the 
burnt  powder  seemed  to  add  to  their  consternation. 
They  sneezed  and  coughed  in  the  most  violent  manner, 
and  sometimes  would  seize  their  noses  between  their 
fingers,  as  though  they  would  drive  the  intruder  from 
their  lungs  by  physical  force.  Their  whole  appearance 
and  deportment,  to  persons  differently  situated,  would 
have  been  in  the  last  degree  ludicrous. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this,  we  watched  the  progress  of 
the  fire  with  a  great  deal  of  interest,  to  see  if  Thornton 
would  exhibit  any  signs  of  life  when  the  flames  reached 
him.  In  a  few  moments  they  were  lapping  up  around 
him,  and  the  only  indications  of  life  we  could  perceive 
was  a  few  shrugs  of  the  shoulders,  and  then  all  seemed 
over  with  him.  His  spirit  had  taken  its  flight  to  that 
"  bourne  whence  no  traveler  returns." 

Here  we  hope  the  reader  will  pardon  a  digression, 
and  indulge  us  in  a  few  brief  remarks,  as  a  tribute  of 
remembrance  to  a  lost  friend. 

William  Thornton  was  only  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
of  small  stature,  and,  physically,  rather  weak  and  deli 
cate.  His  mind  was  quick  and  penetrating ;  and  a 
more  noble,  generous  heart  was  never  found  in  the  breast 
of  an  Englishman.  He  was  habitually  kind  and  agree 
able  —  always  cheerful  and  light  spirited  —  doing  with 


48  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

alacrity,  and  willingly,  every  thing  in  his  power  that 
seemed  necessary  to  be  done,  to  advance  the  happiness 
or  comfort  of  friends  or  neighbors.  Moulton  and  I  had 
become  very  much  attached  to  him,  and  his  horrid  suf 
ferings  and  death  were  a  source  of  infinite  pain  and 
sorrow  to  us.  In  his  affliction,  we  could  render  him  no 
assistance,  and  he  was  not  even  conscious  of  our  sym 
pathy.  We  consoled  ourselves,  however,  with  the  idea 
that  his  troubles  were  at  an  end,  and  that  he  was  forever 
free  from  the  barbarities  of  these  savages. 

After  the  explosion  of  the  powder-flask,  the  Indians 
seemed  anxious  to  leave  this  mysterious  place  as  soon 
as  possible,  as  they  probably  supposed  that  so  strange 
an  occurrence  boded  no  good.  Our  guard  signified  to 
us  that  they  were  ready  to  start,  and  before  the  mortal 
remains  of  poor  Thornton  were  half  consumed,  we  set 
off  on  our  march.  It  was  now  about  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  and  we  were  urged  along  at  a  more  rapid  pace 
than  we  had  been  on  either  of  the  previous  days ;  the 
spears  were  again  freely  used  upon  our  backs  and 
shoulders,  with  the  like  eifect.  Our  feet  were  so  sore 
and  tender,  that  every  step  we  took  gave  us  great  pain  ; 
and  yet  we  were  compelled  to  keep  up  with  the  savages, 
who  seemed  to  slip .  over  logs,  rocks,  and  brush,  with 
the  facility  of  deer.  Another  plague  we  were  tormented 
by,  was  the  musquitoes.  They  followed  us  in  swarms, 
and  attacked  us  in  the  most  relentless  manner  possible. 
Why  it  was  that  all  their  spite  was  vented  on  us,  is  more 
than  I  can  say — for  they  appeared  to  give  the  savages 
no  inconvenience  whatever.  The  blood  that  we  lost  on 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  49 

this  day,  by  the  spears,  musquitoes'  bills  and  our  feet, 
must  have  been  considerable. 

About  two  o'clock  the  Indians  halted  for  about  half 
an  hour,  on  the  bank  of  a  small  stream,  where  stood 
perhaps  half  a  dozen  old  huts,  far  advanced  in  a  state 
of  decay. 

While  stopping  here,  two  of  the  Indians  left  in  ad 
vance  of  us.  Of  their  purpose  we  were  then  ignorant, 
but  which  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

After  the  savages  had  passed  around,  peeping  into 
the  huts,  as  if  in  search  of  some  one,  they  again  set  off. 
This  respite,  although  short,  was  a  great  relief  to 
Moulton  and  myself,  for  our  prostration  was  extreme, 
and  far  beyond  my  powers  of  description.  We  con 
tinued  at  about  the  same  speed  as  before,  but  not  with 
out  receiving  frequent  probes  from  the  spears  of  our 
guard. 

About  four  o'clock,  we  reached  another  small  stream 
of  water,  and  having  descended  it  for  perhaps  a  mile, 
we  saw  approaching  us  an  incongruous  mass  of  savages, 
fearful  to  contemplate.  There  were  men,  women  and 
children ;  some  on  horseback,  and  some  on  foot ;  some 
of  them  were  entirely  naked,  and  some  of  them  having 
around  their  middle  simply  a  piece  of  the  hide  of  some 
animal — filthy  in  the  extreme.  They  approached  us  in 
all  kinds  of  order  and  disorder,  and  made  the  woods  re 
sound  with  their  screeches  and  screams.  Had  all  the 
wild  beasts  of  the  forest  been  thrown  together  pell  mell 
in  a  heap,  the  sound  and  confusion  could  not  have  been 
more  discordant  and  frightful,  than  was  that  which  now 
3 


50  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

greeted  us.  They  crowded  around  us,  on  every  side, 
as  if  they  meant  instantly  to  devour  us.  Our  guard 
halted  and  gave  them  time  to  gratify  their  curiosity. 
They  came  up  and  felt,  pinched,  and  kicked  us  in  the 
most  wanton  and  brutal  manner.  In  this  sport  the 
women  showed  no  more  delicacy  than  the  men. 

After  the  savage  troop  had  to  some  considerable  ex 
tent  gratified  their  inquisitive  dispositions,  our  guard 
ordered  them  back,  and  we  were  marched  on,  as  before. 
We  were  greatly  annoyed,  however,  by  these  wild  and 
ferocious  beings,  until  we  reached  the  village,  about 
sunset. 

We  now  understood  the  object  of  the  two  men  who 
left  us  a  few  miles  back.  In  compliance  with  a  custom  of 
these  wild  people,  when  they  have  taken  captives,  they 
had  gone  before  as  runners,  to  apprise  the  savage  vil 
lagers  of  our  approach,  and  accordingly  they  had  all 
come  out  to  meet  us. 

We  soon  approached  the  village,  which,  to  us,  was 
fantastic  in  the  extreme.  For,  although  Moulton  and 
I  both  had  seen  Indian  villages  before,  yet  this  differed 
from  any  that  we  had  seen  heretofore.  Mud,  grass, 
and  branches  of  trees,  entered  largely  into  its  composi 
tion.  Some  of  the  huts  were  conical,  with  an  aperture 
in  the  centre  for  the  egress  of  the  smoke,  whilst  others 
.were  oblong,  without  any  roof;  others,  again,  were 
square,  and  covered  with  the  branches  of  trees — all 
were  small,  gloomy,  excessively  filthy,  and  without 
floors. 

These  hovels  numbered,  as  I  subsequently  learned, 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  51 

about  fifty,  and  were  the  very  pictures  of  poverty  and 
wretchedness.  We  were  conducted  to  a  tent  which  oc 
cupied  about  a  central  position  in  the  village,  which  was 
used  as  a  council-house  and  prison,  and  was  now  un 
occupied.  Here  we  were  placed,  and  closely  guarded 
day  and  night.  Whilst  occupying  this  place  of  con 
finement,  our  legs  were  closely  bound  together  with 
cords,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  escape.  Our  food 
consisted  of  the  same  filthy  meat  as  before,  of  which 
we  must  eat  or  starve.  We  managed  to  force  a  little 
of  it  on  our  stomachs  daily,  and  by  degrees  it  became 
less  offensive  to  us. 

Such  had  been  our  exposure  and  brutal  treatment, 
since  we  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  savages,  that 
life  itself  had  become  a  burden  ;  and  but  for  that  ray 
of  hope  which  follows  man  in  the  darkest  hour  of  his 
affliction,  and  bids  him  look  for  better  things,  we  should 
have  welcomed  Death  as  a  messenger  of  peace  ! 

For  more  than  a  week  after  our  arrival  in  this  place, 
we  were  scarcely  able  to  move,  in  consequence  of  the 
mutilation  of  our  backs,  legs  and  feet,  which  were  ren 
dered  still  more  tormenting  by  our  exceedingly  uncom 
fortable  lodgings — the  bare  ground  being  our  only 
couch,  and,  although  the  nights  were  chilly,  we  had 
nothing,  not  even  the  skin  of  a  beast,  to  cover  our 
naked  bodies. 


52  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 


CHAPTER    IY. 

As  YET  we  had  received  no  intimation  from  our  cap 
tors,  as  to  what  disposition  they  designed  to  make  of 
us,  although  we  had  frequently  endeavored  to  elicit 
something  from  them  on  this  subject.  From  their  more 
than  barbarous  conduct,  not  only  toward  ourselves  thus 
far,  but  in  the  outrageous  murder  of  our  companion,  we 
could  gather  but  faint  hope  of  any  thing  but  cruelty, 
and  probably  ultimate  death,  at  their  hands.  Unless 
we  could  by  some  means  make  good  our  escape,  (and 
from  the  vigilance  with  which  they  guarded  us,  there 
seemed  slight  prospect  of  success  in  that  direction,) 
there  seemed  to  be  no  remedy  for  us.  We  tried  to  re 
sign  our  future,  whatever  it  might  be,  into  the  hands  of 
Providence,  believing  that  if  it  was  in  accordance  with 
his  will  that  we  should  elude  the  vigilance  of  these 
savages,  the  way  of  escape  would  be  made  plain,  and 
we  should  be  prospered  therein.  But,  upon  the  contrary, 
if  it  was  his  will  that,  like  our  noble  companion,  we 
should  fall  a  prey  to  savage  vengeance,  far  away  from 
home  and  friends,  in  the  wilderness,  where  even  a  hint 
from  the  dim  record  of  our  fate  would  be  forever  lost  to 
our  friends,  we  endeavored  to  be  content.  Yet  to  say 
that  we  were  at  ease,  with  all  the  strivings  for  resigna 
tion,  or  the  philosophizings  that  we  could  master,  would 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  53 

be  a  misnomer;  for  in  fact,  both  physically  and  mentally, 
we  were  most  wretched.  A  dread  of  worse  calamities 
than  those  through  which  we  had  passed  constantly 
tormented  us,  and  disturbed  our  rest,  day  and  night  I 
The  apparent  calm  which  we  were  now  enjoying  seemed 
ominous,  and  our  minds  recurred,  in  anticipation,  to  a 
speedy  realization  of  some  great  calamity. 

During  our  confinement  in  the  village,  our  fears  had 
been  excited  and  our  minds  daily  harrassed,  by  the  col 
lection  about  our  hut  of  large  bodies  of  savages,  of 
both  sexes  and  every  age  and  condition.  Their  naked 
and  brutal  appearance  was  loathsome  and  repulsive, 
from  which  we  turned  with  almost  involuntary  shud 
dering. 

The  mass  of  these  people,  in  a  moral  point  of  view, 
seemed  but  little  elevated  above  the  brute  creation,  and 
their  knowledge  rather  instinct  than  reason.  And,  to 
persons  unacquainted  with  humanity  in  this  degraded 
form,  the  exceeding  depravity  of  these  people  would 
seem  almost  to  startle  credulity  itself;  although  I 
subsequently  found  there  were  exceptions  to  this  rule, 
and  believe  some  of  them  susceptible  of  improvement. 

We  had  been  confined  in  this  place  for  ten  days ; 
and  although  far  from  being  restored  to  our  wonted 
vigor,  yet  our  condition  was  much  improved  from  that 
which  it  had  been  on  our  arrival.  The  contusions  on 
our  backs  and  limbs  were  partially  healed,  and  our 
strength  considerably  improved,  since  we  were  placed 
in  the  hut ;  the  cords  with  which  our  legs  were  bound 
together,  had  not  been  so  tightly  drawn,  and  conse- 


54  FIVE   YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

quently  the  pain  we  experienced  from  this  cause  was 
considerably  ameliorated. 

We  still  loathed  the  kind  and  quality  of  the  food 
with  which  we  were  supplied  ;  but,  making  a  virtue  of 
necessity,  we  tried  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  appetite 
with  it  as  best  we  could. 

As  yet,  we  had  found  no  opportunity  for  escape. 
Had  the  constant  vigilance  of  our  guard  been  relaxed 
but  for  a  brief  period,  we  might  have  managed  to  have 
eluded  them,  for  we  could  have  removed  the  cords  from 
our  limbs  without  much  effort,  and  we  would  have  had 
little  difficulty  in  kicking  a  hole  through  the  side  of  the 
hovel  large  enough  for  our  escape.  But  this  joint  es 
cape  was  never  to  be  accomplished.  On  the  morning 
of  the  fifteenth  day  of  our  captivity,  the  whole  village 
collected  together,  in  the  vicinity  of  our  place  of  im 
prisonment,  and  rent  the  air  with  their  hideous  noise 
and  uproar.  They  all — old  and  young,  male  and  fe 
male — seemed  exceedingly  jubilant  from  some  cause. 
In  the  midst  of  this,  the  chief  made  his  appearance  at 
this  council-hall  and  prison,  and  having  addressed  him 
self  to  our  guard,  they  immediately  removed  the  cords 
from  our  limbs,  and  conducted  us  outside  of  the  hut. 
At  this  the  whole  concourse  of  savages  renewed  their 
shrieks,  yells,  and  gyrations 

Our  guard  immediately  started  with  us,  in  a  westerly 
direction  ;  and  the  whole  company  followed.  Some 
were  on  horseback,  but  far  the  largest  number  were  on 
foot,  and  the  march  commenced  amid  the  howling  and 
barking  of  any  number  of  cadaverous-looking  dogs. — 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  55 

Had  all  the  fiends  in  Pandemonium  been  driven  together 
by  some  tremendous  convulsion  of  the  infernal  regions, 
we  thought  the  noise  and  confusion  could  not  have  been 
more  terrific  or  revolting  to  civilized  feelings. 

We  pursued  our  course  at  a  rapid  pace,  over  hills  and 
valleys,  for,  as  we  supposed,  about  ten  miles,  when  we 
were  again  met  by  hundreds  of  savages,  in  the  same 
promiscuous  manner  as  on  our  first  arrival  among  them. 
Here  we  were  again  stopped  as  before,  and  submitted 
to  the  same  indignities  by  this  new  recruit  of  savages. 
After  sating  their  curiosity,  and  exhausting  their  in 
genuity,  we  were  moved  forward  again  amid  their  hoot 
ing,  jeers,  and  grimaces.  Having  gone  a  mile,  perhaps, 
farther,  and  ascended  to  a  beautiful  grove  of  timber* 
upon  a  slight  elevation,  we  came  in  view  of  what  seemed 
a  temporary  Indian  encampment.  There  were  but  few 
tents ;  and  they  appeared  to  be  of  recent  construction, 
and  of  very  fragile  nature,  being  composed  entirely  of 
the  boughs  of  trees. 

Into  one  of  these  tents  we  were  conducted  and  bound 
as  before,  having  also  the  same  guard  to  watch  over  us. 
We  felt  that  our  present  condition  was  certainly  an  im 
provement  on  what  it  had  been  at  the  village,  in  one 
particular  at  least — every  thing  was  fresh  and  clean. 

The  afternoon  was  now  pretty  well  advanced,  and  the 
grove  appeared  alive  with  the  forms  of  dusky  savages. 
Dancing  and  whooping  seemed  their  favorite  amuse 
ment  on  this  occasion.  Fresh  troops  of  savages  were 
almost  constantly  arriving  during  the  afternoon  and 
night ;  and  we  were  annoyed  and  vexed  at  the  frequency 


56  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

with  which  we  were  taken  out  and  exhibited  (as  though 
we  were  some  strange  species  of  animal)  to  these  new 
comers.  At  an  early  hour  in  the  evening,  numerous 
camp-fires  were  blazing;  and  uproar  and  confusion 
seemed  to  be  the  order  of  things  during  the  whole  night. 
It  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to  give  the  reader  any 
thing  like  a  correct  idea  of  the  wild,  unearthly  discord 
which  characterized  the  proceedings  of  the  savages 
during  this  and  the  following  night.  Neither  Moulton 
or  I  slept  for  a  single  moment — we  could  only  listen  to 
the  infernal  noise  that  reigned  without.  Our  feelings 
were  such,  however,  that,  had  there  been  no  external 
cause  of  disturbance,  it  is  doubtful  whether  our  rest 
would  have  been  composed,  or  our  slumbers  unbroken. 
We  had  serious  misgivings  as  to  what  this  new  order  of 
affairs  meant,  and  what  the  result  would  be,  with  regard 
to  our  own  interests  and  welfare. 

At  an  early  hour  next  morning,  we  inquired  (by  signs) 
of  our  guard  the  object  of  these  proceedings ;  and,  for 
the  first  time  since  our  captivity,  received  from  them  an 
answer  to  our  question.  They  signified  to  us  that  the 
Black-Foot  nation  had  met  together  in  council,  to  deter 
mine  upon  what  was  best  to  be  done  with  us.  This  in 
formation,  as  the  reader  may  well  suppose,  was  not  cal 
culated  to  allay  our  agitation,  or  quiet  our  fears,  as  we 
knew  we  had  little  mercy  to  expect  at  the  hands  of  a 
people  so  degraded,  base,  and  cruel,  as  we  had  found 
them. 

The  sky  was  clear  this  morning,  and  the  sun  shone  pe 
culiarly  bright  and  beautiful.  The  noise,  song,  dance,  and 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  51 

scalp  halloo  had  ceased  suddenly,  about  day  dawn,  and 
we  were  left  to  our  reflections.  About  10  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  we  were  conducted  by  our  guard  before  the 
council.  The  chiefs  and  warriors,  and  those  admitted 
to  the  deliberations  of  the  council,  occupied  an  open 
space  in  the  centre  of  the  camp,  in  the  form  of  a  circle, 
and  were  all  seated  on  the  ground  in  perfect  silence. — 
We  were  conducted  and  seated  upon  the  ground  in 
the  centre  of  the  ring. 

We  observed  that  during  the  progress  of  the  delibera 
tions,  the  women  and  children  occupied  another  part  of 
the  camp,  at  some  distance  from  the  council,  and  were 
profoundly  quiet. 

All  the  Indians  participating  in  the  deliberations  of 
the  council  were  painted,  and  wore  the  dress  and  car 
ried  the  implements  of  war.  Their  appearance  was 
savage  in  the  extreme,  and  illy  calculated  to  re-assure 
us,  or  raise  our  drooping  spirits.  The  whole  assemblage 
remained  perfectly  silent  for  about  ten  minutes  after  we 
had  taken  our  seats  in  the  midst  of  them.  At  a  signal 
from  the  chiefs,  they  all  in  an  instant  sprang  to  their 
feet,  and,  preceded  by  the  chiefs,  commenced  one  of 
their  war-dances,  moving  around  us  in  a  circle.  During 
the  progress  of  this  ceremony,  they  hummed  over  a  kind 
of  strange,  unearthly  music,  which  I  could  compare  to 
nothing  I  had  ever  heard  ;  and  at  regular  intervals  they 
would  stop,  and  whoop  and  screech  most  furiously,  and 
then  continue  their  progress  as  before.  Their  bodies, 
in  the  mean  time,  were  thrown  into  every  variety  of  con 
tortion,  and  their  features  (always  repulsive)  were  made 


58  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

to  assume  a  hideousness  which  would  have  done  honor 
to  Beelzebub  himself.  They  finally  brought  this  part  of 
the  ceremony  to  a  close,  and  having  resumed  their  seats, 
one  of  the  chiefs  arose,  and  commenced  what  we  sup 
posed  to  be  a  speech.  To  us,  his  language  was  like  a 
sealed  book,  as  we  understood  not  a  word  of  it.  That 
the  subject  matter  of  the  speech  intimately  concerned 
us,  we  readily  concluded,  as,  during  his  address,  the 
chief  frequently  pointed  in  a  very  significant  way  towards 
the  place  where  we  were  sitting.  Judging  from  the 
countenances  of  his  auditors,  his  arguments  were  having 
an  effect  upon  them,  by  no  means  flattering  to  our  pros 
pects.  During  the  delivery  of  the  speech,  their  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  us  in  a  most  ferocious  manner  ;  exhibit 
ing,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  -the  emotions  of  anger, 
hatred,  and  contempt,  and  a  desire  for  a  speedy  and 
terrible  vengeance. 

This  speech  occupied  about  ten  minutes  in  its  delivery, 
and,  at  the  conclusion,  every  Indian  sprang  to  his  feet 
as  quick  as  thought,  and  made  the  woods  resound  with 
a  succession  of  quick,  nervous  shrieks,  and  again  took 
their  seats — when,  after  a  short  interval,  another  chief 
rose  up,  and  proceeded  to  address  the  council — when  the 
same  savage  demonstration  (apparently  of  approbation) 
followed.  This  order  was  continued  until  four  speeches 
were  made — the  same  attention  being  given,  and  the 
same  ceremony  observed  at  the  close.  At  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  last  speech,  the  savages  quietly  withdrew, 
and  the  council  broke  up  without  any  farther  ceremony, 
or  any  intimation  that  we  could  understand,  of  the  re- 


AMONG  THE  BLACK- FEET  INDIANS.        59 

suits  of  their  deliberations.  We  were  now  left  to  the 
care  of  our  guard,  who  conducted  us  back  to  our  tent, 
and  bound  us  as  before.  From  the  demeanor  of  the 
savages  constituting  the  council,  we  were  fearful  of  their 
verdict ;  for,  although  we  could  not  understand  their 
language,  and  had  no  intimation  from  them  what  the 
result  was  likely  to  be,  yet  we  thought  we  could  detect, 
in  their  manners  and  conduct,  vengeful  intentions. 

After  being  taken  back  to  our  tent,  we  inquired  of 
our  guard  what  the  result  of  the  council  was  ;  but  could 
get  no  definite  answer  from  them.  This  tended,  also, 
to  increase  our  agitation.  It  was  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  when  the  council  broke  up,  and  we  were 
immediately  afterward  served  with  our  morsel  of  dis 
gusting  food.  Quiet  appeared  to  reign  throughout  the 
camp  until  dusk,  when  the  camp  fires  were  again  lighted, 
and  all  the  noise  and  confusion  of  the  past  night  was 
renewed,  and  kept  up  during  the  whole  of  this.  In  the 
mean  time,  we  had  determined  on  making  our  escape 
during  this  night,  if  possible,  as  we  had  much  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  savages  meant  to  put  us  to  death,  and 
that,  probably,  by  means  of  some  terrible  torture.  So 
that,  should  we  even  fail,  the  failure  would  not  probably 
make  our  case  any  worse. 

On  this  night,  three  other  Indians  took  the  place  of 
those  who  had  heretofore  guarded  us.  We  laid  down 
at  an  early  hour  in  the  evening,  and  feigned  to  be  sound 
asleep ;  yet,  such  was  our  anxiety  as  to  the  success  of 
what  we  were  about  to  undertake,  that  our  blood  was 
fired  up  in  an  extraordinary  manner ;  and  the  motion  of 


60  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

our  hearts  was  quick  and  spasmodic.  Our  savage  guard 
was  engaged  in  conversation  until  after  midnight,  and 
had,  up  to  that  time,  given  no  indication  of  drowsiness.  > 
But,  having  spent  the  previous  night  in  carousal,  their 
watchfulness  began  to  relax  before  the  urgent  demand 
for  sleep ;  and  presently  we  noticed  one  of  them  drop 
over  on  his  side,  apparently  asleep,  and,  in  the  course 
of  ten  minutes  more,  one  of  the  others  followed  his  ex 
ample  ;  and  before  the  expiration  of  half  an  hour,  we 
were  gratified  to  find  all  three  of  them  asleep,  and 
snoring  lustily. 

Now,  by  a  little  exertion  with  our  hands,  we  soon  re 
moved  the  cords  from  our  legs.  We  then  quietly  arose 
to  our  feet,  and  gently  elevating  some  of  the  branches 
of  which  our  tent  was  constructed,  made  an  opening 
sufficiently  large  for  our  egress.  But  here  again  was  a 
great  difficulty  to  be  overcome,  or  failure  in  our  enter 
prise  must  be  the  consequence.  The  camp-fires  were 
blazing  in  every  direction  from  our  tent,  and  shedding 
a  bright  light  over  the  whole  scene,  thus  making  £  strong 
probability  of  our  being  detected ;  especially,  as  the 
savages  were  all  astir,  and  making  the  night  hideous  with 
their  strange  noises  and  ditties.  However,  there  was  no 
time  to  be  lost,  and  we  slipped  noiselessly  through  the 
aperture,  and  taking  a  northerly  direction,  commenced 
creeping  along  on  our  bellies,  designing  to  pass  centrally 
between  two  fires,  which  were  perhaps  fifteen  rods  apart. 
We  had  progressed  some  five  or  six  rods  from  the  tent, 
when  several  dogs  started  off  at  a  furious  rate,  (in  the 
direction  that  we  were  proceeding,)  barking  fearfully. 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  61 

We  squatted  flat  upon  the  ground,  but,  to  our  infinite 
mortification  and  terror,  this  did  not  save  us.  Scores 
of  the  Indians  followed  the  dogs,  and  it  only  required  a 
few  moments  for  them  to  comprehend  the  whole  affair. 
We  were  again  seized,  kicked  and  cuffed,  and,  after  be 
ing  taken  back,  amid  the  jeers  and  insults  of  hundreds 
of  savages,  were  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  thrust  upon 
the  ground.  The  uproar  on  the  outside,  occasioned  by 
our  re-capture,  had  awakened  our  guard  from  their  com 
fortable  sleep  ;  when,  discovering  that  we  were  missing, 
they  hastened  to  the  scene  of  action,  and  were  exceed 
ingly  officious  in  re-conducting  us  back  again. 

Presently  one  of  the  chiefs  came  into  the  tent,  and 
learning  what  had  occurred,  soundly  rebuked  the  guard 
for  their  dereliction  in  duty,  by  giving  them  a  few  hearty 
kicks  in  the  posterior  portion  of  their  bodies,  which 
made  them  grin  in  a  very  interesting  manner. 

We  now  gave  up  all  for  lost ;  for  our  last  hope  (as 
far  as  we  could  see)  had  proved  a  failure,  and  would, 
perhaps,  hasten  the  calamities  which  we  believed  were 
pending  over  our  heads.  Such  had  been  the  beneficial 
result  of  the  chief's  reproof  upon  our  guard,  that,  for 
the  remainder  of  the  night,  sleep  seemed  to  have  for 
saken  their  eyes,  as  they  were  not  only  wide  awake,  but 
boisterous. 

As  on  the  preceding  morning,  the  noise  and  uproar 
made  by  the  savages  ceased  at  day-light,  and  every 
thing  became  perfectly  quiet.  After  we  had  forced  upon 
our  stomachs  a  few  morsels  of  our  miserable  apology 
for  a  breakfast,  the  chief  appeared  at  the  door  of  the 


62  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

tent,  and  having  made  some  communication  to  our 
guard,  left  us.  About  ten  o'clock,  the  cords  with  which 
we  were  bound  were  taken  off  by  our  guard,  who  led 
us  from  the  tent  to  a  point  in  the  camp  where  a  large 
number  of  savages  were  collected,  who  all  appeared  quiet 
and  orderly.  As  we  approached,  they  gave  way,  and 
we  were  led  into  the  centre  of  the  collected  multitude. 

Upon  taking  our  position,  what  was  our  horror  on 
beholding  a  stake  firmly  driven  into  the  ground,  and  a 
great  quantity  of  dry  faggots  collected  and  bound  to 
gether,  and  laid  in  piles.  It  was  now  evident  that  our 
worst  fears  were  about  to  be  realized ;  and  that  in  a 
very  short  time  we  would  probably  be  put  to  the  tor 
ture,  and  die  a  most  horrible  death.  Our  feelings  at 
this  time  may  be  imagined,  but  they  can  never  be  de 
scribed.  Although  we  had  been  for  some  time  trying 
to  reconcile  our  minds  to  any  fate  which  might  befall  us, 
yet,  such  is  the  tenacity  with  which  humanity  generally 
clings  to  life,  that  it  is  exceedingly  hard  to  relinquish 
it  voluntarily,  (unless  aroused  by  some  enthusiasm,) 
especially,  when  death  is  presented  in  its  most  painful 
and  repulsive  form. 

The  male  portion  of  the  savages,  both  chieftains  and 
warriors,  were  painted  in  the  most  grotesque  and  hideous 
style,  and  armed  with  their  spears  and  knives.  We 
had  occupied  our  position  in  the  midst  but  a  short  time, 
when  one  of  the  chiefs  arose,  and  spoke  for  a  few  min 
utes,  in  a  loud,  excited,  and  vehement  manner.  When 
he  sat  down,  the  whole  company  of  savages  sprang  from 
their  recumbent  position,  and  commenced  filing  off  in 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  63 

the  form  of  a  circle  around  us,  and  flourishing  their 
weapons  in  a  threatening  manner,  and,  at  regular  in 
tervals,  hooting  and  shouting,  until  the  forest  gave  back 
the  terrific  sounds.  After  this  ceremony  had  lasted 
some  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  the  chief  who  had  aided  in 
our  capture  advanced  to'  the  centre  of  the  circle  near 
where  we  were  standing,  and  tapped  Moulton  on  the 
shoulder  three  or  four  times  with  the  side  of  his  spear, 
and  then  returned  to  his  place.  A  second  ring  of  sav 
ages  was  then  formed,  the  space  between  them  being 
about  five  feet.  Moulton's  guard  then  conducted  him  to 
the  interim  between  the  two  circles,  whilst  I  was  left 
under  the  care  of  the  guard  in  the  first  place  assigned  me. 
Moulton  had  scarcely  gained  the  open  space  between 
the  two  circles,  when  the  savages  nearest  to  him  attacked 
him  in  the  most  ferocious  manner  with  their  knives, 
spears,  and  clubs ;  and,  as  he  advanced  around  the  circle 
in  order  to  avoid  the  severe  torture  which  he  was  en 
during,  he  met  the  same  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the 
entire  circle.  In  this  way,  he  passed  around  the  ring 
three  times,  and  then,  from  the  severity  of  the  treatment 
and  the  loss  of  blood,  he  fell  to  the  ground,  but  was  im 
mediately  seized  by  the  infuriated  savages,  and  dragged 
to  the  stake  ;  to  which  he  was  securely  bound,  and  the 
faggots  speedily  piled  around  him. 

Whilst  this  was  going  forward,  the  chief  signed  to 
me  for  his  implements  of  war  and  of  the  chase ;  and  I 
having  pointed  him  to  his  gun  and  knife,  they  were 
handed  over  to  be  consumed  with  him. 

It  is  a  custom  with  these  savages,  and  also  regarded 


64  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

amongst  them  as  a  principle  of  honor,  that  all  the  arms, 
or  implements  used  in  hunting  or  in  war — whether  they 
belong  to  friend  or  foe — shall  follow  the  condition  of 
their  owner,  be  he  buried  away  in  the  earth,  or  con 
sumed  at  the  stake.  And,  whilst  suffering  death  at  the 
stake,  according  to  the  custonl  in  this  nation,  the  prison 
er's  hands  are  fetterless,  as,  according  to  their  rude 
notions  of  a  future  state,  the  free  use  of  the  hands,  and 
the  accoutrements  of  a  chief,  or  hunter,  are  as  essential 
to  their  convenience  and  comfort  in  that  state  as  the 
present. 

During  these  inhuman  inflictions  of  cruelty,  Moulton 
had  not  uttered  a  word,  but  bore  his  tortures  with  the 
greatest  stoicism  and  fortitude.  His  head,  face,  and 
body  were  covered  with  blood  when  he  was  tied  to  the 
stake,  and  so  profuse  was  the  flow  from  his  temples,  that 
it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  see  at  all.  I  admonished 
him  to  bear  with  fortitude  every  thing  that  his  torment 
ors  inflicted  upon  him,  and  to  trust,  with  full  confidence, 
through  grace,  in  the  salvation  of  Christ,  and  that  I 
should  soon  follow  him,  and  that  we  would  again  be 
united  in  the  better  world  on  high. 

He  replied,  that  his  tortures  had  been  intense,  but 
that  the  grace  of  God  was  sufficient  to  carry  him  through 
all  that  could  be  inflicted  upon  him,  and  that  he  was 
anxious  for  the  termination  of  the  scene  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

The  faggots  were  lighted,  and  in  a, few  moments 
Moulton  was  enveloped  in  the  flames,  and  without  utter 
ing  a  word,  or  exhibiting  the  least  sign  of  pain,  his 
spirit  passed  from  earth. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  65 

The  savages,  amid  the  most  tempestuous  uproar,  con 
fusion,  and  demoniacal  grimaces,  continued  to  heap  on 
fuel  until  the  body  was  entirely  consumed — after  which, 
I  was  again  conducted  to  the  tent,  and  bound  as  before. 
This  was  contrary  to  my  anticipations,  as  I  had  ex 
pected  the  consummation  of  my  melancholy  fate  would 
immediately  follow  that  of  Moulton,  but  it  was  not  to  be. 

It  was  now  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and 
having  witnessed  a  scene  the  like  of  which  I  pray  God 
I  may  never  again  be  constrained  to  look  upon,  I  felt 
very  much  exhausted  and  sick  at  heart,  and  had  relin 
quished  all  desire  to  live,  and  felt  resigned  to  meet  my 
fate,  and  desired  the  end  would  soon  come. 

My  attachment  to  Moulton  had  been  very  strong. 
He  was  a  faithful  friend,  liberal  to  a  fault,  and  pos 
sessed  of  a  large  and  noble  soul.  He  was  rather  of  a 
religious  turn  of  mind,  having  been  reared  by  religious 
parents — although  he  had  never  made  any  public  pro 
fession.  He  had  a  good  constitution,  was  strong,  ac 
tive  and  robust,  always  calm  and  self-possessed,  being  a 
stranger  to  fear  of  every  kind.  And  although  his  end 
was  melancholy  in  the  extreme,  yet  his  fortitude  never 
forsook  him.  His  life  had  been  one  of  honest  industry, 
in  a  commendable  calling,  and  he  died  in  the  full  pos 
session  of  the  inspiring  hope  of  the  true  believer. 

Having  slept  none  for  several  nights,  and  feeling 
wearied  both  in  mind  and  body,  after  my  return  to  the 
tent  I  soon  fell  asleep,  and  slept  until  some  time  after 
dark.  When  I  awoke,  I  noticed  a  number  of  camp- 
fires  burning,  but,  from  some  cause,  the  Indians  were 
3* 


66  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

quiet.  Perhaps,  in  consequence  of  their  loss  of  sleep 
the  two  preceding  nights,  they  gave  themselves  up  to 
repose  on  this.  I  slept  but  little  from  the  time  I  awoke 
until  daylight.  My  guard,  during  the  night,  were 
vigilant,  not  suffering  their  eye-lids  to  droop  for  a  mo 
ment,  but  keeping  a  constant  watch  on  every  motion  I 
made. 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  was  unbound, 
and  taken  perhaps  a  mile  south  of  the  camp,  where  we 
again  came  upon  the  whole  band  of  Indians.  They 
were  assembled  in  the  midst  of  a  grove  of  timber,  in 
the  same  manner  that  they  were  on  yesterday  morning. 
Why  they  had  changed  their  location,  I  could  not  con 
jecture,  but  subsequently  learned  it  was  on  account  of 
the  scarcity  of  water  at  the  old  camp.  I  was  imme 
diately  conducted  into  their  midst,  where  the  fatal  stake 
and  faggots  were  already  prepared,  and  after  going 
through  the  same  barbarous  ceremonies  as  on  the  for 
mer  occasion,  (with  the  exception  of  not  compelling  me 
to  run  the  guantlet  around  the  circle,)  I  was  firmly 
fastened  to  the  stake,  by  means  of  cords  of  hide  passed 
around  my  body  and  legs,  and  the  faggots  piled 
around  me.  The  same  chief  then  brought  me  my 
rifle  and  my  hunting-knife,  and,  at  my  request,  my 
powder-horn.  These  savages  seemed  to  have  no  idea 
of  the  dangerous  uses  of  fire-arms ;  for,  on  inspection, 
I  found  that  the ,  same  load  was  in  my  gun  which  was 
there  when  we  were  captured.  I  reprimed  it  with 
fresh  powder  in  their  presence,  without  seeming  to  ex 
cite  their  suspicions.  I  had  determined,  when  my  arms 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  6t 

were  given  me,  that  before  the  flames  reached  my  body, 
I  would  avenge  myself  on  the  chief  who  was  at  the 
head  of  the  party  which  captured  us,  by  trying  his  pow 
er  of  endurance  in  resisting  the  effects  of  a  rusty  load 
from  an  English  rifle. 

The  faggots  were  now  fired  in  several  places,  and  the 
savages  were  performing  their  circular  gyratory  dance, 
with  the  usual  accompaniments  of  noise  and  confusion, 
when,  on  raising  my  eyes  in  a  suppliant  attitude  toward 
Heaven,  almost  the  first  object  that  I  distinctly  compre 
hended  was  a  very  large  panther,  laying  on  the  limb  of 
a  tree,  almost  directly  above  us.  The  idea  immediately 
occurred  to  me  that  this  was  Providential,  and  designed 
as  a  means  for  my  deliverance.  Knowing  the  supersti 
tion  of  these  wild  people,  the  thought  flashed  upon  mo 
that  if  I  could  bring  the  panther  down  (with  my  rifle) 
in  their  midst,  they  would  attribute  the  report  and 
smoke  of  the  gun,  and  the  simultaneous  fall  of  the  ani 
mal,  to  supernatural  agency,  and  the  result  might  pos 
sibly  be  my  deliverance  from  the  tortures  of  the  stake. 
My  greatest  fears  resulted  from  the  uncertainty  that 
might  attend  the  attempt  to  discharge  my  rifle,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  load  having  been  so  long  deposited. 
But  the  emergency  demanded  prompt  action,  and  I 
threw  my  rifle  to  my  shoulder,  and  although  my  nerves 
were  somewhat  unsteady,  I  quickly  brought  the  beast 
within  its  range,  and  pulled  the  trigger,  and  at  the  re 
port  of  the  gun  the  panther  gave  one  fearful  shriek, 
leaped  from  the  limb,  and  with  tremendous  force  came 
crashing  down  amongst  the  savages.  The  report  of  the 


68  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

gun,  followed  by  the  descent  of  the  lifeless  panther, 
frightened  them  nearly  out  of  their  senses.  They  in- 
instantly  fled  some  distance  from  the  fatal  spot,  and 
then  turned  around  and  regarded  it  with  silent  awe. 
By  this  time  the  flames  were  advancing  rapidly  upon 
me,  and  a  few  minutes  more  would  decide  my  fate.  At 
this  juncture  about  twenty  of  the  savages  rapidly  ad 
vanced  to  the  stake,  and  in  an  instant  severed  the  cords 
that  bound  me  with  their  knives,  and  in  any  thing  but  a 
ceremonious  manner  jerked  me  away,  and  urged  me 
forward  at  a  rate  of  speed  which  I  had  never  before  at 
tained.  We  returned  to  the  village  from  whence  I  had 
been  taken  a  few  days  before,  but  instead  of  being  con 
fined,  as  heretofore,  I  was  taken  to  the  chiefs  lodge, 
and  provided  with  all  the  comforts  that  he  enjoyed,  and 
was  allowed  to  cook  my  meat  to  my  own  taste. 

From  this  time  the  Indians  seemed  to  regard  me  as  a 
superior  being,  exerting  a  kind  of  supernatural  power, 
and  instead  of  insult  and  abuse,  they  paid  the  greatest 
deference  to  my  wishes,  and  in  most  cases  were  obedient 
to  my  commands. 

My  rifle  was  a  great  mystery  to  them,  (which  I  was 
careful  not  to  unravel,)  and  when  they  learned  the  cer 
tainty  with  which  it  could  be  used,  and  its  deadly  effect 
when  brought  to  bear  upon  any  living  creature,  they 
seemed  greatly  amazed  and  were  afraid  to  touch  it. 

I  was  allowed  my  liberty,  upon  the  condition  that  I 
would  not  attempt  to  escape ;  which,  of  course,  I  prom 
ised  not  to  do,  making  at  the  same  time  great  mental 
reservations,  as  I  felt  determined  in  my  own  mind  to 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  69 

run  away  at  the  first  favorable  opportunity.  For,  al 
though  circumstances  now  seemed  in  my  favor,  at  least 
so  far  as  my  life  was  concerned,  yet  the  awful  calamities 
that  I  had  endured  at  their  hands,  and  the  deep  im 
pression  made  upon  my  mind  and  sympathies,  by  the 
horrible  murder  of  my  two  companions,  Thornton  and 
Moulton,  had  inspired  me  with  a  loathing  detestation 
that  I  thought  I  should  never  forget. 


FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 


CHAPTER    Y  . 

THE  Black-Foot  nation  of  Indians  (in  the  Indian 
signification  of  the  term)  are  considered  brave  and  war 
like,  and  are  a  constant  terror  to  a  number  of  the  neigh 
boring  tribes.  Toward  their  prisoners,  taken  in  war  or 
otherwise,  they  are  cruel  to  the  last  degree — almost 
uniformly  putting  them  to  death,  either  at  the  stake  or 
in  some  other  cruel  form.  In  their  forays  on  other 
tribes,  they  spare  neither  age  nor  sex,  but  indiscrimi 
nately  put  all  to  death. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  males  are  tall,  straight,  and 
muscular,  exhibiting  great  activity  when  circumstances 
call  it  forth.  They  are  almost  uniformly  good  horse 
men,  and  exhibit  much  dexterity  in  the  management  of 
these  animals.  They  are  fond  of  the  chase,  and  spend 
a  good  portion  of  their  time  in  hunting  and  fishing, 
but,  withal,  are  exceedingly  improvident  and  slothful ; 
"  taking  but  little  thought  what  they  shall  eat  or  drink, 
or  wherewith  they  shall  be  clothed,"  but  allowing  every 
day  to  take  care  of  itself. 

The  females  of  this  nation  are  in  almost  every  re 
spect  inferior  to  the  males.  Their  features  are  coarse 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  71 

and  forbidding,  their  manners  rude,  and  their  whole  ap 
pearance  filthy  and  slatternly.  This  may  principally 
be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  their  condition,  as  re 
gards  the  males,  is  that  of  absolute  slavery.  The  wo 
men  are  made  do  all  the  drudgery,  and,  in  many  cases, 
they  are  made  perform  the  tasks  usually  allotted  to 
beasts  of  burden — carrying  in  the  game,  arms,  and  other 
implements  for  their  lazy  lords. 

The  Black-Foot  nation  is  divided  into  four  distinct 
tribes,  or  bands,  to  wit :  the  Bloods,  the  Piegans,  the 
Gros-Ventres,  and  the  Black-Feet  proper.  All  these 
tribes  are,  however,  generally  included,  when  we  speak 
of  the  Black-Foot  nation.  They  have  been  united  by 
consanguinity  and  lineage  for  many  generations,  and 
their  national  interests  ar.e  a  unit.  In  all  their  wars 
with  neighboring  tribes,  they  act  together  as  in  a  com 
mon  cause ;  and  no  measures  of  general  interest  are 
ever  adopted  without  consultation  with  all  the  confed 
erate  tribes.  Each  one  of  these  tribes  or  bands  has  its 
own  chiefs,  and  is  independent  qf  each  other,  except  in 
regard  to  the  common  defense/or  that  which  concerns 
the  whole  nation.  The  language,  manners  and  usages 
of  these  tribes  are,  with  a  few  slight  differences,  the 
same. 

The  Black-Feet  proper  and  the  Bloods  occupy  the 
country  upon  the  source  of  the  Marias  and  Milk  rivers, 
to  the  fiftieth  parallel  of  latitude.  The  Piegans  occupy 
the  country  between  the  Marias  and  Milk  rivers,  upon 
the  Marias  river  and  the  Teton,  and  between  the  Teton 
and  Missouri.  The  Gros-Yentres  inhabit  the  country 


T2  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

bordering  on  Milk  river,  to  the  territory  of  the  Pie- 
gans.* 

The  number  of  warriors  belonging  to  the  Black-Foot 
nation  is  about  four  thousand,  and  in  their  contests  with 
the  neighboring  tribes,  almost  uniformly  come  off  first 
best. 

Another  peculiarity  belonging  to  these  Indians  in  an 
especial  sense,  is  their  great  passion  for,  and  expertness 
in,  horse-stealing.  The  neighboring  tribes  lose  hun 
dreds  of  fine  horses  annually  by  these  depredators. 
But  for  this  evil  there  is  no  help,  as  the  Black-Feet  are 
the  monarchs  of  all  that  region  of  country,  and,  like 
other  dignitaries,  feel  at  liberty  to  take  tithes  of  those 
who  owe  them  homage. 

We  were  captured  by  a  party  from  the  Black-Feet 
tribe  proper,  and  after  having  been  conducted  to  the 
village,  as  before  related,  messengers  were  posted  from 
this  to  other  tribes  of  the  nation,  giving  them  notice  of 
our  capture,  and  inviting  their  presence  at  the  council, 
(and  perhaps  torture,)  according  to  their  custom  in  all 
cases  of  this  kind.  Every  tribe  of  the  Black-Foot  na 
tion,  as  I  subsequently  learned,  was  represented  in  the 
council  which  determined  the  fate  of  Moulton  and 
myself.  Besides  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes,  there  were 
also  many  of  the  warriors  present. 

After  the  phenomenon  of  the  panther,  the  savages 
separated,  and  most  of  them  set  out  for  their  respective 

*  The  territorial  boundaries,  names  of  rivers,  and  other  geo 
graphical  data,  are  taken  from  modern  publications,  in  order  to 
render  the  work  more  intelligible. — ED. 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  3 

tribes,  leaving  me  in  the  hands  of  those  who  had  first 
taken  me  prisoner. 

Up  to  this  time,  and  for  a  considerable  time  after,  I 
understood  but  little  of  their  language,  and  consequently 
our  conversation  was  principally  carried  on  by  signs. 
Their  language  is  not  very  difficult  to  acquire,  and  at 
the  end  of  six  months  I  could  both  speak  and  under 
stand  it  pretty  well.  Their  vocabulary  of  words  exhib 
its  great  poverty,  and  much  of  their  conversation  is 
carried  on,  amongst  themselves,  by  means  of  signs. 
Their  general  mode  of  conversation  is  to  use  a  suffi 
cient  number  of  outline  words  to  give  form  to  the  idea 
that  they  wish  to  convey,  and  then  to  supply  all  minute 
deficiencies  by  signs  and  gestures,  rapidly  conveyed, 
and  with  great  aptitude  understood  by  them. 

Since  my  Providential  return  to  the  village,  I  had 
used  every  means  in  my  power  to  strengthen  and  secure 
their  good  opinion  concerning  me.  I  put  on  a  cheerful 
countenance  and  visited  them  at  their  huts  freely,  and, 
externally  at  least,  seemed  careless  and  contented. 
The  attachment  and  veneration  of  the  Indians  toward 
me  seemed  greatly  increased,  and  in  a  short  time  I  be 
came  an  object  of  no  inconsiderable  influence  amongst 
them.  As  is  customary  with  all  savage  tribes,  a  revul 
sion  in  sentiment  from  barbarous  cruelty  usually  ter 
minates  in  the  other  extreme  of  great  favor  and  conde 
scension. 

At  their  solicitation,  I  usually  accompanied  them  in 
their  hunting  and  fishing  excursions ;  and  by  the  con 
stant  exhibition  of  my  superior  wisdom  in  these  pursuits, 
4 


t4  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

they  regarded  rne  as  a  being  possessed  of  a  kind  of  super 
natural  prowess  and  wisdom,  who  had  been  sent  amongst 
them  to  instruct  and  benefit  them.  The  ease  and  cer 
tainty  with  which  I  could  take  game  with  my  rifle,  was 
a  source  of  astonishment,  and  was  regarded  by  my  sav 
age  observers  with  perplexity  and  awe.  The  report  of 
my  gun  was  for  some  time  a  source  of  terror,  and  gave 
them  great  uneasiness  every  time  I  discharged  it,  until 
I  explained  to  them  that  the  noise  was  not  the  charm, 
but  only  an  evidence  that  the  charm  had  passed  by  ; 
which  assurance,  I  was  glad  to  find,  entirely  dispelled 
their  fears. 

Hohoako-Kiwa,  or  "  Mountain  Eagle,"  the  chief,  ex 
pressed  a  wish,  on  one  occasion,  to  try  his  success  upon 
an  antelope  with  my  rifle,  which  I  permitted  him  to  do, 
after  giving  him  the  necessary  instructions.  He  drew 
up  in  great  haste  and  fired  ;  but  the  moment  the  report 
reached  his  ears,  he  dropped  the  gun  and  sprang  back 
in  great  terror,  at  the  same  time  uttering  a  loud  pooh  ! 
So  ludicrous  was  the  scene,  that  I  could  not  refrain  from 
laughing.  After  Hohoako-Kiwa  had  sufficiently  recov 
ered  his  self-possession,  he  remarked  that  he  had  no 
doubt  but  rifle-charm  was  very  good,  but  it  was  never 
made  for  Black-Foot  Indian.  Whether  the  ball  passed 
within  one  or  ten  rods  of  the  antelope,  I  could  not  tell, 
as  it  loped  off  with  all  the  ease  and  grace  imaginable. 

Since  my  return  to  the  village,  the  chief  had  given 
me  permission  to  make  for  myself,  from  the  skins  of 
animals,  such  a  covering  for  my  body  as  my  own  taste 
might  dictate.  Accordingly,  I  made  a  kind  of  coat, 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  15 

which  came  down  to  my  knees,  and  also  a  pair  of 
leggings,  which,  after  so  long  exposure,  I  found  very 
comfortable.  The  chief's  wife  also  made  for  me  a  pair 
of  moccasins,  which  were  neatly  and  curiously  wrought, 
and  adorned  with  wampum  in  extravagant  style.  I 
found  them,  however,  very  comfortable  and  serviceable 
during  the  winter. 

With  the  axes  and  auger  that  they  had  taken  from 
us  at  our  capture,  I  made,  for  some  of  the  squaws,  sev 
eral  useful  vessels  and  other  conveniences,  such  as 
water-buckets,  troughs,  &c.  By  these  little  offices  of 
kindness,  they  also  became  very  partial  to  me,  and  were 
always  willing  to  do  any  thing  in  their  power  to  minis 
ter  to  my  comfort. 

About  this  time  it  was  resolved  to  spend  two  weeks 
hunting  buffalo  on  the  prairies,  and  that  I  should  be  of 
the  party.  I  expressed  entire  satisfaction  with  the  ar 
rangement,  and  a  wish  to  accompany  them  and  partake 
of  the  amusement.  Horses  were  provided  for  us  to 
ride,  and  the  chief  announced  that  all  things  were  ready 
for  a  start. 

I  had  but  little  knowledge  of  the  art  of  riding  on 
horseback,  having  done  but  little  of  it  during  the  pre 
ceding  part  of  my  life.  My  horse  was  pointed  out  to 
me,  and  I  was  assisted  to  mount ;  but  no  sooner  had  I 
got  fairly  astride  the  animal  than  it  commenced  kicking, 
rearing,  and  plunging,  in  a  most  furious  manner,  and 
never  ceased  for  a  moment,  until,  after  turning  about 
three  summersaults,  I  landed  upon  my  back  some  dis 
tance  in  advance  of  him.  At  this  display  of  my  horse- 


16  FIVE  YEARS  A  CAPTIVE 

manship,  the  Indians  set  up  a  tremendous  shout  of 
laughter.  As  good  luck  would  have  it,  I  was  not  much 
hurt,  and  was  soon  upon  my  feet  again.  The  Indians 
caught  the  horse  and  brought  him  back.  After  this 
misadventure,  I  thought  it  no  more  than  an  act  of  pru 
dence  in  me  to  modestly  decline  riding  on  horseback 
altogether.  But  the  chief  insisted  that  I  should  give 
the  animal  one  more  trial,  as  he  was  the  most  docile  of 
any  that  they  possessed.  He  said  he  would  hold  the 
horse  until  I  was  fairly  seated,  and  then  he  would  give 
me  the  necessary  instructions  how  to  ride  and  manage 
my  horse.  Accordingly,  I  again  mounted,  and  after 
telling  me  in  what  position  to  put  my  legs  and  adjust 
my  body,  and  how  to  use  my  hands  and  arms  in 
guiding  a  horse,  he  let  him  go ;  and,  although  he 
seemed  restive  for  some  time,  yet  he  moved  off  tolerably 
well.  By  watching  the  Indians,  I  soon  acquired  the 
secret  of  their  horsemanship,  and  could  stick  to  a  horse 
almost  as  well  as  they  could.  These  animals  know 
very  quickly,  however,  whether  the  person  mounting 
them  understands  his  business  ;  and  if  he  does  not,  terra 
firma  is  certain  to  receive  him  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time.  The  mode  of  traveling  on  horseback  of 
these  Indians  is  in  single  file,  and  at  a  full  canter.  I 
found  it  rather  difficult  to  keep  along  with  them,  espe 
cially  in  passing  through  thick  underbrush  and  over  logs 
and  ravines. 

Our  course  was  up  the  Missouri  river,  and  in  riding 
thirty  miles  we  stopped  but  once,  and  that  was  to  graze 
the  horses.  We  arrived  at  the  point  for  which  we  set 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  77 

out  some  time  before  night,  and  having  pitched  our 
camp  and  partaken  of  our  morsel  of  food,  we  prepared 
every  thing  for  an  early  start  and  busy  day's  hunt  on  the 
morrow.  Our  camp  was  situated  on  the  margin  of  a 
beautiful  prairie,  and  although  the  tall  grass  and  herb 
age  were  dry  and  sere,  yet  the  extent  and  grandeur  of 
the  prospect  inspired  the  beholder  with  enthusiasm  and 
feelings  of  new  life. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  we  were  astride  our 
horses,  and  darting  across  the  prairie  in  every  direction, 
in  search  of  buffalo.  The  Indians  were  armed  with 
their  bows  and  arrows  and  spears,  which  they  use  with 
fatal  effect  upon  the  buffalo,  and,  in  fact,  upon  almost 
every  species  of  game.  Their  arrows  are  hurled  with 
such  force,  when  under  full  headway  in  pursuit  of  game, 
that  even  the  powerful  buffalo,  in  a  short  time,  is  made 
to  succumb  to  their  deadly  effect.  Their  spears  are 
used  in  close  combat,  and,  when  wielded  by  the  hand  of 
a  powerful  Indian,  do  fatal  execution.  As  for  myself,  I 
carried  my  rifle  and  hunting-knife,  fully  persuaded  that 
in  the  chase  the  chances  of  success  were  in  my  favor. 

We  had  not  gone  far  before  we  espied  an  immense 
herd  of  buffalo  in  the  distance,  grazing  on  the  prairie, 
and,  immediately  dispersing  our  men  in  the  proper  di 
rections  in  order  to  surround  them,  we  gave  them  chase  ; 
and  amid  a  cloud  of  dust  almost  impenetrable,  and  the 
bellowing  of  the  herd,  we  pursued  them  at  the  top  of 
the  speed  of  our  horses,  every  man  in  his  own  way. 
Coming  up  within  a  few  rods  of  a  fine  cow,  I  discharged 
my  rifle  at  her,  but  whether  I  hit  her  or  not  I  never 


Y8  ^  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

knew ;  as,  the  moment  my  rifle  cracked,  my  horse 
squatted  and  sent  me,  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five 
degrees,  flying  through  space,  leaving  me  not  only  with 
an  empty  gun,  but  also  with  a  sprained  ankle.  When 
I  had  sufficient  time  to  collect  my  senses,  I  saw  my 
horse  cantering  gaily  across  the  prairie,  in  an  opposite 
direction,  little  regarding  the  mischief  he  had  done. 
Some  of  the  Indians,  discovering  my  difficulty,  came  to 
my  relief,  and  having  pursued  and  caught  my  horse, 
brought  him  back  to  me.  One  of  the  Indians  assisted 
me  to  mount,  and  then  returned  to  camp  with  me,  where 
for  two  days  and  nights  I  suffered  intensely  from  my 
sprained  ankle,  but  was  finally  relieved  by  the  applica 
tion  of  a  kind  of  paste,  made  from  a  glutinous  root 
which"  is  common  in  this  country. 

During  the  two  days  of  my  confinement,  the  Indians 
had  succeeded  in  securing  three  of  the  buffaloes,  and  had 
the  beef  in  the  process  of  drying.  The  whole  of  the  third 
day  I  spent  (with  two  Indian  assistants)  in  breaking 
my  horse  to  the  use  of  my  rifle.  This  I  did  by  firing 
my  gun  repeatedly  before  him,  and  behind  him,  and 
over  his  head,  until  he  seemed  to  take  no  notice  of  the 
report.  I  then  got  upon  his  back  and  put  him  in  rapid 
motion,  and  whilst  thus  advancing,  fired,  until  I  was 
satisfied  that  he  took  no  farther  notice  of  the  noise. 

On  the  next  day  I  again  set  off  with  the  Indian  hun 
ters,  and  we  had  the  good  fortune,  about  ten  o'clock,  to 
fall  in  with  a  herd  of  buffaloes,  and  immediately  gave 
them  chase.  I  soon  overtook  a  large  bull,  and,  taking 
aim  as  best  I  could,  fired  for  the  region  of  his  heart. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  79 

He  pitched  forward  and  fell  upon  his  knees,  but  quickly 
recovering,  made  off  with  himself  at  a  greatly  retarded 
speed.  I  immediately  reloaded  my  rifle,  and  again 
starting  in  pursuit,  soon  came  up  with  him,  and  aiming 
my  ball  as  before,  fired,  when  the  bull,  turning  a  com 
plete  summersault,  fell  to  the  ground . 

When  the  Indians  came  up,  they  made  a  great  ado 
over  my  success,  and  congratulated  me  on  my  pros 
pect  as  a  successful  buffalo  hunter.  My  horse  stood 
the  firing  admirably,  and  I  felt  encouraged  and  proud 
of  my  success. 

Mine  was  the  only  buffalo  secured  to-day,  the  Indian 
hunters  having  failed  in  killing  any.  They  soon  made 
the  proper  disposition  of  the  beef,  and  we  returned  to 
camp  for  the  night. 

In  this  way  we  spent  fifteen  days,  and  secured,  during 
the  time,  ten  buffaloes,  four  of  which  I  killed  with  my 
rifle.  The  Indians  informed  me  that  this  was  unusual 
success,  as  they  had  often  spent  a  much  longer  time  in 
the  chase  and  not  secured  more  than  one  or  two,  and 
sometimes  none. 

Yet,  amid  our  rejoicings  at  our  good  fortune,  we 
encountered  a  source  of  regret,  in  a  sad  calamity  which 
befell  two  of  the  Indians  on  the  last  day  of  the  hunt. 
Three  of  them  started  out  in  search  of  the  horses  early 
in  the  morning,  and  having  wandered  off  to  some  dis 
tance  among  the  bluffs  on  the  border  of  the  prairie, 
were  attacked  by  two  enraged  grizzly  bears.  Two  of 
the  Indians  were  killed  and  their  bodies  horribly  man 
gled  by  them.  The  third  Indian  made  his  escape,  and 


80  FIVE   YEAES   A   CAPTIVE 

reached  the  camp,  half  frightened  out  of  his  senses,  and 
related  what  had  happened. 

There  is  no  foe  which  inhabits  these  regions  half  so 
formidable  to  the  Black-Feet  as  the  grizzly  and  brown 
bears.  Their  arrows  and  spears  have  but  little  effect 
upon  the  vitality  of  these  animals,  and  they  dread  them 
more  than  they  do  all  the  fiends  in  this  world  or  the 
other.  In  fact,  the  Black-Feet  have  encountered  but 
one  class  of  enemies  whom  they  really  fear,  and  they  are 
the  bears.  With  all  their  prowess  as  a  brave  and  warlike 
nation  of  Indians,  one  grizzly  or  brown  bear,  turned 
loose  amongst  them,  would  put  the  whole  nation  to 
route ;  and  if  the  Crows,  Snakes,  or  Flat-Heads  were 
only  to  keep  one  or  two  of  these  animals  in  their  camp 
when  at  war  with  the  Black-Feet,  they  would  at  least 
be  in  no  danger  of  a  sudden  attack  from  the  enemy. 

I  immediately  proposed  to  take  my  rifle  and  go  in 
pursuit  of  the  aggressors,  but,  to  my  astonishment,  none 
of  the  Indians  were  willing  to  accompany  me  in  so  dan 
gerous  an  enterprise. 

So,  making  the  necessary  inquiry  as  to  the  where 
abouts  of  these  animals,  from  the  frightened  fugitive 
who  had  escaped  from  them,  and  seeing  that  my  rifle 
was  in  good  order  and  properly  loaded,  I  set  out  in 
pursuit  of  them,  contrary  to  the  remonstrances  of  the 
Indians.  I  had  not  traveled  over  a  mile,  when,  on  as 
cending  to  the  top  of  a  bluff,  I  was  in  full  view  of  the 
bears,  not  more  than  thirty  yards  from  me,  devouring 
the  corpses  of  the  slain  Indians.  I  kneeled  down  upon 
the  ground,  and  resting  the  muzzle  of  my  gun  upon  a 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  81 

rock  that  happened  to  lie  convenient,  took  a  steady 
and  deadly  aim  for  the  butt  of  the  ear  of  the  largest, 
and  the  bear  dropped  in  its  tracks,  and,  after  a  few  vio 
lent  struggles,  was  dead. 

The  other  bear,  hearing  the  report  of  my  gun  and^not 
knowing  what  to  make  of  it,  seated  himself  upon  his 
haunches  and  kept  a  vigorous  lookout  in  the  direction 
where  I  was,  but  did  not  seem  disposed  to  leave  his 
game.  Retaining  my  position  behind  the  rock,  I  re 
loaded  my  gun,  and  again  took  deliberate  aim  for  his 
forehead,  when,  making  a  bound  forward,  he  fell,  and 
expired  immediately. 

I  then  returned  to  camp  and  found  the  Indians  hud 
dled  together  in  great  terror,  lest  the  bears,  in  their 
rage,  after  destroying  me,  should  make  a  sally  upon  the 
camp.  I  told  them  their  fears  were  groundless,  as  I 
had  killed  both  their  enemies.  Yet,  so  incredulous 
were  they,  that  it  was  some  time  before  I  could  convince 
them  of  the  truth  of  what  I  told  them,  although  they 
heard  the  report  of  my  gun  on  both  occasions. 

I  finally  succeded  in  persuading  the  whole  party  to 
follow  me  to  the  place  of  combat,  which  they  did  at  a 
respectful  distance  in  the  rear.  When  they  came  up 
and  saw  the  two  bears  lying  dead,  their  gratitude  to  me 
was  unbounded,  and  they  heaped  upon  me,  both  by 
words  and  signs,  any  amount  of  their  rude  encomiums, 
and  seemed  to  regard  me  as  but  little  inferior  to  that 
mysterious  being  whom  they  regard  as  the  God  of  the 
Black-Foot  nation. 

Whilst  I  was  skinning  the  bears,  the  Indians  took  the 


82  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

remains  of  their  companions,  and  having  dug  a  shallow 
hole  in  the  ground,  deposited  them  therein,  and  then 
covered  them  with  dirt,  sticks,  and  stones. 

The  hides  of  these  bears  answered  me  a  good  pur 
pose  for  a  long  time,  in  the  way  of  supplying  me  with  a 
bed,  which  I  much  needed,  and  to  which  the  Indians 
made  no  objection. 

Every  thing  being  now  ready,  we  started  for  the  vil 
lage,  each  one  of  us  having  as  much  as  he  could  well 
carry  upon  his  horse,  and  arrived,  at  a  late  hour  of  the 
night,  amid  much  joy  and  satisfaction,  expressed  by  the 
squaws  and  children,  in  consequence  of  our  success. 

There  were  but  few  signs  of  sorrow  or  grief  ex 
pressed,  even  by  the  female  relations  of  the  two  Indians 
who  were  destroyed  by  the  bears — all  such  external 
demonstration  being  regarded  by  them  as  weakness,  and 
unworthy  the  character  of  their  people.  Accordingly, 
upon  the  occurrence  of  death  among  them,  they  assume 
cheerfulness  of  countenance,  nor  suffer  a  melancholy 
look  to  escape  them. 

We  were  supplied  with  meat  enough  to  last  for  some 
considerable  time,  and  as  these  Indians  seldom  exert 
themselves  until  forced  by  necessity,  their  time  for  more 
than  a  month  was  spent  in  loitering  about  their  village 
in  a  very  listless  manner. 

Winter  now  set  in  in  earnest,  and  I  found  it  difficult 
to  keep  from  freezing.  I  spent  the  most  of  iny  time  at 
the  chief's  lodge,  as  it  afforded  a  little  better  protection 
than  any  of  the  others,  and  I  was  always  made  a  wel 
come  guest.  During  this  winter,  a  great  deal  of  snow 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  83 

fell ;  a  part  of  the  time  it  lay  four  feet  deep  on  the 
level  surface,  and,  our  provisions  becoming  scarce,  we 
experienced  much  suffering  from  want  of  food  before 
spring.  During  the  deep  snows,  it  was  impossible  to 
hunt  to  any  advantage,  and  the  consequence  was  that, 
in  these  times  of  scarcity,  we  had  to  supply  the  defi 
ciency  with  dog-meat,  which  afforded  but  a  scanty 
means  of  subsistence,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned.  But 
the  Indians  regard  this  kind  of  food  with  favor  as  a 
great  delicacy.  Such  is  their  partiality  for  this  species 
of  animal,  however,  that,  unless  pressed  by  hunger, 
they  will  not  interfere  with  their  mortal  existence. 

Whenever  the  weather  would  permit,  I  assisted  them 
in  hunting,  and,  by  keeping  up  this  plan  from  time  to 
time,  we  reached  spring  without  any  deaths  from  starva 
tion  amongst  us,  although  many  other  villages  of  the 
nation  were  not  so  fortunate,  as  we  learned  in  the 
sp/ring  there  had  many  perished  for  want  of  food  during 
the  severe  weather. 

This  difficulty  might  be  easily  avoided,  were  they  not 
usually  so  excessively  slothful  and  improvident.  Whilst 
they  have  enough  to  supply  their  wants  to-day,  they 
have  no  thoughts  for  the  morrow,  and  rarely,  if  ever, 
go  in  search  of  food  until  forced  to  it  by  their  necessi 
ties.  When  this  necessity  overtakes  them,  they  engage 
in  the  necessary  labor  with  cheerfulness  and  energy,  and 
seem  to  enjoy  it  very  much ;  but  as  soon  as  their  press 
ing  wants  are  supplied,  they  again  relapse  into  their 
usual  sloth  and  inactivity.  During  the  time  I  was  with 
them,  I  tried  to  impress  upon  them  the  importance  of 


84  FIVE  YEARS  A  CAPTIVE 

laying  up  a  sufficient  store  of  provisions  for  the  winter ; 
but  I  never  succeeded  in  moving  them  a  particle  from 
their  usual  habits  in  this  respect,  although  they  would 
acknowledge  the  reasonableness  of  my  suggestions. 

It  was  now  the  first  of  May,  and  the  weather  was 
delightful,  and  vegetation  was  rapidly  expanding  in  all 
its  native  wild  luxuriance.  The  young  tender  grass 
had  already  clothed  the  prairies  in  their  beautiful  garb 
of  green,  and  a  great  variety  of  wild  flowers,  with 
blushing  modesty,  were  peeping  from  behind  the  rocks, 
logs,  and  trees.  All  nature  seemed  again  to  rejoice  in 
the  charms  of  a  new-born  spring.  The  birds,  the 
beasts,  and  even  the  wild  and  uncultivated  savage,  ex 
hibited  new  signs  of  life  and  renewed  energy. 

To  one  who  has  a  taste  to  admire  the  works  of  the 
Almighty  Architect,  in  their  native  wildness  and  ro 
mantic  loveliness,  perhaps  no  part  of  the  world  is  better 
calculated  to  gratify  it  than  this.  Every  thing  appears 
to  have  been  prepared,  and  is  presented  to  the  eye  of 
the  beholder  upon  a  mammoth  and  most  magnificent 
scale.  The  prairies,  the  rocks,  the  hills,  the  mountains, 
the  rivers,  the  forests,  the  beasts,  and  the  birds,  are 
complete  within  themselves,  and  faultless  to  the  intelli 
gent  observer. 

We  had  just  returned  from  the  prairies,  (where  we 
had  been  spending  the  last  ten  days  in  the  chase,)  laden 
with  a  plentiful  supply  of  beef  and  venison,  when  our 
village  was  visited  by  a  number  of  deputies  from  an 
other  village,  about  thirty  miles  distant  from  our  own. 
Their  object  was  to  crave  assistance  in  the  capture  of  a 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  85 

number  of  bears,  which  had  presumptuously  visited 
their  village  a  few  evenings  previous,  and  carried  away 
two  of  their  young  women. 

The  Indians  had  heard  of  the  fame  of  the  pale-faced 
prisoner,  (as  they  called  me,)  with  regard  to  the  mys 
terious  skill  with  which  he  destroyed  these  animals,  and 
were  very  anxious  that  I  should  accompany  them 
to  their  village.  The  chief,  myself,  and  about  thirty  of 
our  warriors,  went  to  their  relief,  and  upon  our  arrival 
found  them  in  a  truly  pitiable  condition.  The  bears 
had  paid  them  a  second  visit  the  night  previous  to  our 
arrival,  and,  having  broken  into  one  of  their  huts,  had 
carried  away  one  of  their  young  men  and  a  child ;  and 
they  were  so  affected  with  fear,  that  they  knew  not 
which  way  to  turn  themselves,  or  how  to  act. 

As  before  remarked,  these  animals  are  a  source  of 
perpetual  fear  and  dread  to  the  savages,  and  many  of 
them  are  destroyed  by  this  foe  every  year.  It  is  nothing 
uncommon  for  these  beasts  to  make  bold  assaults  upon 
their  villages,  and  kill  or  carry  off  a  number  of  the  in 
habitants  before  relief  can  be  had.  And,  although  the 
savages,  goaded  on  by  desperation,  sometimes  attack 
them,  and  occasionally  kill  one,  yet,  such  is  their  dread 
of  them,  and  the  inefficiency  of  their  means  for  destroy 
ing  them,  that  it  is  with  great  reluctance  that  they  attack 
them.  And,  indeed,  when  we  take  into  consideration 
the  size,  strength,  ferocity,  and  tenacity  of  life  of  these 
animals,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  they  are  terrible  to  these 
people.  They  are  even  a  formidable  and  dangerous  foe 
to  combat,  when  brought  in  contact  with  the  most  de- 


86  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

structive  weapons,  and  sometimes  prove  more  than  a 
match  for  the  arts  of  civilized  man.  The  bears  them 
selves  appear  to  be  conscious  of  the  fear  entertained  of 
them  by  the  Indians,  and  enjoy  their  supremacy  with  as 
much  cruel  zest  as  any  other  set  of  tyrants  in  the  world ; 
and,  although  the  Indians  and  the  bears  have  inhabited 
the  same  country  together  for  many  generations,  yet  they 
are  far  from  being  upon  amicable  terms,  and,  like  the  rival 
kingdoms  of  France  and  England,  love  to  hate  each 
other  with  a  most  cordial  pungency. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  the  reader,  after  what  has 
been  said  of  the  prowess  of  the  Black-Foot  nation,  that 
they  should  exhibit  so  much  cowardice  and  fear  of  this 
species  of  foe — yet  it  is  nevertheless  true.  In  their 
wars  and  forays  on  other  tribes,  they  are  bold,  adven 
turous,  brave,  and  apparently  heedless  of  danger.  In 
the  chase,  in  pursuit  of  any  other  species  of  game,  they 
are  all  ardor,  animation  and  pluck  ;  but  let  it  be  known 
that  one  of  this  species  of  bears  is  in  their  vicinity,  and, 
like  a  city  smitten  with  the  plague,  their  spirits  at  once 
droop,  and  all  their  courage  forsakes  them. 

It  being  near  sunset  when  we  arrived  at  the  village, 
it  was  too  late  to  think  of  making  any  pursuit  of  the 
enemy  this  evening,  and  we  concluded  to  defer  all  ag 
gressive  action  until  morning.  But  as  the  inhabitants 
were  greatly  in  fear,  lest  the  aggressors  should  return  to 
their  village  on  this  night  again,  I  advised  them  to  build 
a  large  fire  in  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  to  camp 
around  it  during  the  night ;  which,  after  the  expression 
of  some  reluctance,  they  consented  to  do.  The  fire  was 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS,  8T 

kept  up  all  night,  and  the  whole  village,  great  and  small, 
collected  around  it,  and  thus  spent  the  night.  There 
were  but  few  of  us,  except  the  children,  who  slept  dur 
ing  the  watch ;  for  myself,  I  felt  that  the  responsibility 
for  their  safety  during  that  night  rested  upon  my 
shouiders  ;  and  with  my  rifle  in  hand,  I  kept  a  vigorous 
look-out  during  the  whole  time  ;  and  so  greatly  were  the 
fears  of  the  Indians  excited,  that  few  of  them  so  far 
forgot  their  peril  as  to  drop  asleep.  As  it  happened, 
however,  the  foe  did  not  molest  us  during  the  night,  and 
after  partaking  of  a  scanty  meal,  I  set  out,  accompanied 
by  fifteen  of  the  warriors,  (principally  from  our  own  vil 
lage,)  in  search  of  these  audacious  marauders,  after 
having  first  ascertained  the  line  of  their  march.  We 
were  not  long  in  striking  their  trail,  and  found  little  dif 
ficulty  in  following  it,  as  it  was  distinctly  marked,  the 
greater  part  of  the  way,  with  the  blood  of  the  victims 
recently  carried  away  from  the  village  by  them. 

Their  trail  led  us  up  the  mountain's  side  to  an  enor 
mous  projecting  cliff  of  rocks,  into  a  cavity  of  which 
the  bears  seemed  to  have  entered.  At  the  entrance'  to 
this  cavity,  we  discovered  some  of  the  bones  of  one  of 
the  Indians — the  flesh  having  been  all  gnawed  off  by 
the  bears. 

This  cliff  of  rocks  was  about  four  miles  from  the 
village  ;  and,  from  the  signs,  we  had  no  doubt  but  the 
enemy  made  this  their  dwelling  place  for  the  time  being, 
and  were  now  within. 

With  all  my  assurances  to  the  contrary,  the  Indians 
seemed  uneasy  as  to  their  safety,  and  very  anxious  to 


88  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

obtain  a  situation  at  a  more  respectful  distance  from  the 
cliff.  It  was  not  probable  that  the  bears  would  leave 
their  place  of  retreat  until  near  sunset,  and  it  would  be 
folly  in  us  to  make  any  attempt  upon  them  where  they 
now  were.  We  therefore  concluded  to  return  to  the 
village,  and  remain  there  until  toward  evening,  and  then 
again  return  to  the  vicinity  of  the  rocks,  and  keep  a 
sharp  look-out  until  they  made  their  appearace  on  the 
outside. 

About  four  o'clock  we  again  returned,  and  having 
stationed  the  Indians  in  a  secure  place  behind  some 
rocks,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  den,  with  the 
command  that  they  should  remain  quiet  until  I  called 
to  them,  I  proceeded  to  select  my  own  position  within 
a  convenient  distance  from  the  entrance  to  the  rocks. 
This  having  been  accomplished  according  to  my  wishes, 
I  took  my  seat,  with  rifle  in  hand,  and  patiently  waited 
for  the  appearance  of  the  enemy  until  the  disk  of  the 
sun  was  almost  beneath  the  western  horizon,  when,  to 
my  great  relief,  (as  far  as  patience  was  concerned,)  two 
very  large  grizzly  bears  emerged  from  the  cavity  in  the 
rocks,  and  commenced  snuffing  the  air,  as  though  they 
were  scenting  something,  in  a  very  suspicious  manner. 
They  kept  up  such  a  constant  motion,  that  for  some 
time  I  found  it  difficult  to  shoot  with  any  certainty  of 
success,  and  to  make  a  half-done  job  of  it,  was  the  least 
of  my  desires.  The  only  certainty  in  bringing  one  of 
these  animals  down  with  a  rifle  ball,  is  by  penetrating 
the  brain.  A  shot  in  any  part  of  the  body  is  uncertain, 
and  generally  has  the  effect  (for  the  time  being)  to  en- 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  89 

rage  and  increase  their  ferocity ;  and,  although  my 
rifle  only  run  fifty-six  balls  to  the  pound,  I  was  unwill 
ing  to  risk  a  shot  on  one  of  these  bears  in  any  other 
part  than  the  skull.  Presently  one  of  them  started  in 
a  direct  line  for  the  point  where  I  was  secreted,  and 
having  arrived  within  fifteen  yards  of  me,  stopped,  with 
its  side  toward  me.  I  leveled  my  rifle  in  great  haste, 
and  fired  for  the  back  of  the  ear,  but  to  my  great  sur 
prise  and  terror,  with  a  tremendous  growl,  he  made 
directly  for  my  place  of  refuge ;  which,  of  course,  I  was 
not  slow  in  vacating.  I  started,  with  all  the  speed  of 
which  I  was  capable  of  exerting,  toward  the  point  of  a 
projecting  rock,  in  the  direction  of  the  place  where  the 
Indians  had  been  concealed  ;  in  turning  a  corner  of 
which,  in  order  to  ascend  to  its  summit,  and  thereby 
escape  the  fangs  of  the  monster,  the  bear  lost  sight  of 
me,  and  pursued  some  of  the  Indians. 

On  hearing  the  report  of  my  rifle,  several  of  the  In 
dians,  in  order  to  gratify  their  curiosity,  were  in  the  act 
of  creeping  up  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  to  see  how  the 
contest  was  progressing  ;  but  seeing  me  running,  and  the 
bear  in  pursuit  of  me,  they  sprang  to  their  feet,  and  ran 
for  their  lives — giving  the  alarm  to  all  the  others,  who 
immediately  followed  their  example. 

By  this  time  I  had  ascended  to  the  top  of  the  rock, 
and  was  a  passive  spectator  of  the  scene  before  me. 

The  savages,  in  their  flight,  scattered  in  every  possible 

direction ;  each  one  endeavoring  to  save  himself  by  his 

superior  speed.     The  wounded  bear  finally  devoted  all 

his  attention  to  the  hindmost  Indian  of  the  retreating 

4* 


90  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

party,  and  soon  overtaking  him,  with  a  blow  from  his 
huge  paw,  felled  him  to  the  earth.  I  had  no  other  ex 
pectation  than  that  the  Indian  was  killed,  and,  having 
reloaded  my  gun,  set  off  in  pursuit  of  the  bear.  Before 
I  came  within  shooting  distance,  the  monster  left  him, 
and  took  a  position  at  some  distance  in  a  pond  of  water, 
which  was  densely  studded  with  a  small  growth  of  timber. 
When  I  came  up  to  the  Indian,  I  found  him  still 
breathing,  worse  frightened  than  hurt ;  for  as  the  ball 
of  my  rifle  had  passed  through  the  lower  jaw  of  the 
bear,  completely  shattering  it,  he  was  unable  to  do  any 
harm  with  his  fangs — and  after  having  made  the  attempt 
to  his  heart's  content,  he  retired  in  seeming  disgust. — 
Upon  examination,  I  found  no  bones  had  been  broken  ; 
although  the  force  with  which  he  had  applied  his  paw, 
had  stunned  his  victim.  He  soon  recovered  himself, 
and  made  off  for  the  village  as  fast  as  his  legs  could 
carry  him,  leaving  the  bear  and  I  to  arrange  matters  as 
best  we  could.  The  other  Indians  had  disappeared  en 
tirely,  and  for  aught  I  knew  were  ten  miles  away.  I 
felt  no  disposition,  however,  to  give  the  matter  up  in  the 
shape  it  then  presented,  although  it  was  getting  late, 
and  I  was  single-handed.  I  considered  my  reputation 
as  the  "bear-slayer"  at  stake  in  this  transaction,  and 
was  determined  to  give  him  another  trial  before  I  left 
him,  let  the  consequences  be  what  they  might.  I  there 
fore  continued  in  pursuit  of  him ;  and  as  the  pond  was 
not  large,  I  soon  got  within  view  of  him,  standing  in 
the  water  up  to  his  sides,  endeavoring  to  quench  his  thirst 
by  lapping,  in  which  exercise  he  seemed  to  make  but 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  9i 

poor  speed,  as  not  only  his  lower  jaw,  but  his  tongue  also, 
was  much  mangled.  I  was  not  long  in  bringing  my 
rifle  to  bear  upon  his  scalp,  when,  using  a  great  deal 
more  caution  than  I  had  in  aiming  my  first  shot  at  him, 
I  fired.  At  the  crack  of  the  rifle  he  sunk  in  the  water, 
and  after  a  few  vigorous  plunges,  all  was  over  with  him  ; 
and  without  going  to  the  carcass,  I  started  for  the  vil 
lage,  as  the  dusk  of  the  evening  was  fast  setting  in. 

It  was  after  dark  when  I  arrived,  and  you  may  sup 
pose  the  savages  were  in  a  state  of  great  terror  and 
anxiety.  The  report  brought  in  by  those  who  fled  in 
advance  of  the  bear,  and  especially  that  part  of  it  re 
lated  by  the  Indian  who  was  overtaken  by  him,  filled 
them  not  only  with  fear,  but  with  wonder  and  amaze 
ment  also.  The  fugitives  represented  the  bear  as  being 
as  large  as  the  largest  sized  buffalo  bull,  and  of  unpre 
cedented  ferocity. 

I  endeavored  to  allay  their  fears  and  soothe  their 
anxiety,  by  telling  them  that  at  least  one  of  the  mon 
sters  was  destroyed,  and  I  thought  there  would  be  no 
danger  from  this  twain  hereafter. 

It  was  long  before  I  could  convince  them  that  I  had 
killed  this  terrible  animal,  which  had  been  a  source  of 
so  much  fear  and  anxiety  throughout  the  tribe.  Yet, 
when  satisfied  that  the  big  bear  was  really  killed,  they 
expressed  more  gratitude  than  I  ever  knew  them  to  upon 
any  other  occasion.  Indeed,  they  fairly  oppressed  me 
with  laudations  ;  and  for  the  time  being,  I  was  the  cen 
tre  of  attraction  for  all  eyes. 

At  this  time,  Hohoako-Kiwa,  the  chief  of  this  tribe 


92  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

of  the  Black-Foot  nation,  gave  me  the  name  of  "  Wap- 
sa-Kiwan" — "the  Bear- Slayer" — by  which  cognomen  I 
was  recognized  as  long  as  I  remained  with  them.  ;«;-! 

In  the  morning,  the  chief,  a  few  of  the  warriors,  and  my 
self  started  in  search  of  the  dead  bear,  which  we  found 
floating  upon  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  place  where 
I  left  him.  We  soon  managed  to  get  him  on  shore,  and 
were  not  long  in  removing  his  shaggy  coat.  He  was  a 
tremendous  animal,  full  nine  feet  in  length,  and  four  feet 
high.  The  Indians  selected  portions  of  the  flesh,  which 
they  carried  to  the  village  for  food ;  a  single  mouthful 
of  it,  however,  was  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  craving  of  my 
appetite,  as  I  found  it  not  only  strong,  but  otherwise 
offensive  to  my  taste. 

After  this,  we  remained  with  these  Indians  at  their 
village  two  days  and  nights,  without  finding  any  more 
trouble  from  bears,  or  any  other  cause.  At  the  end  of 
this  time  we  returned  to  our  own  village.  Before  leaving 
them,  I  assured  them  that  they  need  have  no  farther  ap 
prehensions  from  this  den  of  bears,  as  it  is  a  uniform 
custom  with  them,  if  they  are  disturbed  in  one  place  of 
concealment,  to  seek  another  immediately.  And  if  one 
of  these  animals  loses  its  mate  by  the  ruthless  assaults 
of  the  hunter,  the  survivor  is  almost  sure  to  leave  its 
former  haunts,  and  retire  among  the  rocks  or  mountains 
to  a  considerable  distance. 

The  report  of  my  rifle  had  the  same  effect  on  the  sav 
ages  of  this  village  that  it  had  upon  those  of  the  one 
of  my  adoption  ;  and,  in  fact,  the  same  astonishment 
and  awe  were  manifested  by  all  with  whom  I  became 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  93 

acquainted  during  my  five  years'  captivity  among  them. 
It  was  something  new  wherever  I  came,  and  the  report 
caused  by  the  explosion  of  the  powder  with  which  it 
was  charged,  filled  them  with  amazement  and  fear,  until 
I  explained  the  mystery  to  them,  (as  far  at  least  as  I 
wished  it  understood,)  when  they  would  seem  satisfied, 
and  even  pleased  with  it. 

On  returning  to  our  village,  I  ascertained  that  my 
ammunition  was  almost  exhausted  ;  and  to  procure  any 
more  seemed  out  of  the  question,  as  it  was  many  hun 
dreds  of  miles,  probably,  to  any  point  where  I  could  ex 
pect  to  procure  supplies.  I  mentioned  these  facts  to 
the  chief,  and  desired  him  to  allow  a  number  of  his 
young  men  to  accompany  me  to  one  of  the  stations  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  order  to  procure  (as  I 
alleged)  a  fresh  supply  of  ammunition.  But  to  this 
proposition  he  would  by  no  means  consent ;  for  although 
he  seemed  very  anxious  that  I  should  have  a  supply  of 
this  necessary  article,  yet  he  would  not  consent  that  I, 
in  my  individual  capacity,  or  accompanied  by  his  young 
men,  should  venture  away  so  far  in  search  of  it.  From 
whatever  cause  he  rejected  this  proposition  of  mine,  he 
no  doubt  acted  prudently,  as  it  was  my  intention,  in  case 
I  succeeded  in  obtaining  my  request,  after  reaching  one 
of  the  stations  of  the  Company,  never  to  show  my  face 
again  among  the  savages.  I  was  not  so  fortunate,  how 
ever,  as  to  make  my  escape  so  easily ;  yet  I  still  hoped 
for  the  best,  and  was  determined  ere  long  to  seek  some 
means  of  escape  from  them,  and  to  try  to  make  my 
way  back  to  the  Company  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific. 


94  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

The  undertaking,  it  is  true,  would  be  fraught  with 
danger  and  difficulty,  and  especially  so,  when  under 
taken  by  a  single  man  ;  for,  besides  the  danger  of  again 
falling  into  the  hands  of  hostile  savages  by  the  way,  I 
would  be  liable  to  encounter,  by  night  as  well  as  by  day, 
ferocious  animals.  But  all  these  difficulties,  added  to 
that  of  supplying  myself  with  food  during  my  flight, 
was  not  sufficient  to  deter  me  from  the  undertaking  when 
a  proper  opportunity  should  present  itself.  Thus  far,  I 
had  seen  no  chance  for  making  a  successful  attempt ;  and 
notwithstanding  my  efforts  to  convince  the  Indians  that 
I  was  entirely  satisfied  with  their  mode  of  life  and  my 
treatment,  yet  they  always  seemed  to  have  an  eye  upon 
me,  lest  I  should  attempt  something  of  the  kind.  It  is 
true,  that  on  several  occasions  in  the  chase,  I  seemed  to 
be  left  by  them  comparatively  at  my  own  discretion,  but 
it  was  uniformly  under  circumstances  that  forbade  any 
attempt  at  an  escape. 

The  powder  which  I  had  been  using  heretofore,  was 
that  contained  in  my  own  flask  at  the  time  of  our  cap 
ture,  and  that  found  in  the  flask  which  had  formerly  be 
longed  to  Moulton,  and  which,  fortunately,  had  not  been 
consumed  with  his  body.  Three  bars  of  lead,  and  the 
moulds  for  running  bullets,  that  belonged  to  each  of  our 
rifles,  had  been  found  and  carried  away  by  the  Indians 
at  the  same  time.  This  lead,  run  into  bullets,  had  thus 
far  supplied  my  rifle  in  this  particular.  But  my  supply 
of  both  powder  and  lead  was  now  about  exhausted  ; 
and  when  the  ammunition  was  gone,  my  rifle  would  be 
of  no  use. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  95 

After  retiring  to  rest  one  evening,  revolving  these 
things  in  my  own  mind,  the  thought  rushed  upon  me 
that  the  bulk  of  the  ammunition  that  we  had  brought 
with  us  from  Vancouver  was  possibly  yet  in  our  hut ;  as 
I  had  no  recollection  of  its  having  been  discovered  and 
taken  by  the  Indians  at  the  time  of  our  capture.  We 
had  brought  with  us  from  Vancouver  fifteen  pounds  of 
powder  and  about  fifty  pounds  of  lead,  and  the  proba 
bility  was,  that  more  than  half  of  this  supply  had  been 
left  in  our  lodge  ;  which,  if  not  destroyed  since  our  cap 
ture,  was  there  yet. 

In  order  to  preserve  our  powder  from  waste  by  acci 
dent,  at  the  time  we  built  our  lodge,  we  had  prepared 
a  kind  of  garret  with  a  few  puncheons,  upon  which  we 
carefully  stowed  away  our  ammunition.  The  powder 
was  kept  in  a  tin  box — the  same  in  which  we  had  car 
ried  it  from  the  station — and  the  lead  had  been  laid  away 
in  loose  bars. 

In  the  morning  I  informed  Hohoako-Kiwa,  and  he 
seemed  much  pleased  that  there  was  still  a  prospect  for 
a  supply  of  these  necessaries  so  near  at  hand.  He 
proposed  that  we  should  set  out  the  following  day  for 
our  old  station,  in  order  to  make  the  necessary  investi 
gation,  to  which  proposal  I  acceded  ;  and  accordingly 
on  the  next  morning  the  chief  and  myself,  with  fifteen  of 
his  warriors,  started  on  our  journey. 


FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 


CHAPTER    VI. 

HAVING  traveled  over  three  days,  we  at  length  ar 
rived  at  the  camp  from  which,  nearly  a  year  before, 
Moulton,  Thornton,  and  myself  had  been  so  ruthlessly 
carried  away.  The  sight  of  this  place  brought  vividly 
before  my  mind,  not  only  the  pleasurable  emotions  that 
had  thrilled  my  heart  whilst  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
society  of  my  two  friends,  but  also  the  scenes  of  horror 
and  misery  which  we  were  forced  to  endure  after  our 
captivity  by  these  savages. 

The  Indians  observed  that  I  looked  melancholy,  and 
some  of  them  inquired  the  cause.  I  told  them  that  the 
long  journey  had  very  much  fatigued  me,  and  that  I 
felt  quite  unwell.  I  felt  the  necessity  of  exerting  self- 
control,  however,  and  soon  succeeded  in  wearing  a  more 
cheerful  countenance. 

Upon  approaching  the  hut,  every  thing  appeared  to 
be  in  the  same  condition  that  it  was  when  we  left  it ;  and 
upon  entering  it,  I  found  the  box  and  the  lead  in  the 
same  place  where  we  left  them,  undisturbed  ;  and  upon 
opening  the  box,  the  powder  was  found  undamaged 
from  any  cause  whatever,  and  its  explosive  quality  as 
good  as  it  ever  had  been.  I  was  very  much  gratified  on 


AMONG  THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  91 

realizing  this  good  fortune,  and  the  Indians  seemed 
equally  pleased.  We  encamped  for  the  night  on  this 
(to  me)  almost  sacred  spot  of  earth,  and  it  was  with 
great  reluctance  that  I  quitted  it  in  the  morning. 

Prior  to  starting  for  this  place,  T  had  made  up  my 
mind  that,  should  a  favorable  opportunity  present  itself, 
I  would  attempt  my  escape  from  '.lie  savages  during  our 
journey.  But  while  here  I  could  sec  no  opportunity  of 
fering,  which  presented  a  reason". '-'c  prospect  for  the 
accomplishment  of  my  object.  Indeed,  there  seemed  to 
be  a  kind  of  fatality  controlling  me  ;  for,  although  I 
was  watching  for  opportunities,  and  exceedingly  anxious 
to  make  my  escape,  and  though  I  was  constantly  re 
solved  upon  that  measure,  yet  there  was  a  seeming  lack 
of  the  necessary  energy  and  resolution  to  carry  my  plans 
into  execution.  And  in  view  of  what  followed  during 
a  portion  of  my  subsequent  captivity,  I  have  often 
thought  that  the  hand  of  Providence  was  conspicuous 
in  shaping  my  course  at  this  time.  It  was  three  weeks 
from  the  time  that  we  left,  until  our  return  to  the  village. 
The  greater  portion  of  this  time  was  spent  in  hunting, 
during  our  return  home.  In  this  journey  we  killed  a 
number  of  deer,  antelope,  and  one  elk,  which  afforded 
us  a  fine  supply  of  venison  for  some  time. 

On  our  return,  the  whole  village  turned  out  to  welcome 
us,  and  seemed  very  much  rejoiced  at  our  success  in  ob 
taining  the  ammunition.  The  quantity  that  I  now  had 
on  hand  would,  with  reasonable  economy,  last  me  for 
years,  or,  at  least,  as  long  as  I  thought  it  probable  I 
should  be  with  the  savages  ;  and  enough  also,  perhaps, 
5 


98  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

to  enable  me  to  provide  the  means  of  subsistence  in 
making  my  escape. 

We  had  been  at  home  but  a  few  days,  when  a  number 
of  deputies  arrived  at  the  village  from  one  of  the  other 
tribes  belonging  to  the  Black-Foot  nation,  informing  us 
of  a  battle  which  they  had  recently  fought  with  the 
Crow  Indians,  in  which  they  had  killed  a  great  number 
of  the  enemy,  and  had  taken  several  prisoners,  (among 
whom  was  a  pale-face  squaw,)  and  inviting  the  warriors 
of  our  village  to  attend  the  council  to  be  held  in  a  few 
days,  to  determine  on  the  fate  of  the  prisoners. 

As  is  the  custom  with  these  savages  on  such  occasions, 
during  the  stay  of  the  deputies,  feasting,  rejoicing,  and 
carousing  was  the  order  of  the  day.  I  felt  relieved 
when  the  intruders  upon  the  quiet  of  the  village  had 
departed. 

Preparations  were  immediately  commenced,  and  every 
one  seemed  on  tiptoe  with  excitement,  in  anticipation  of 
the  enjoyments  to  ber  realized  at  this  council,  and  the 
cruel  tortures  which  .would  no  doubt  follow  it.  The 
chief,  and  a  number  of  the  warriors,  insisted  that  I 
should  accompany  th^m,  which  I  finally  consented  to 
do — principally  on  account  of  the  report  by  the  deputies, 
that  there  was  a  white  woman  among  the  prisoners.  I 
determined,  if  this  was  the  fact,  to  exert  myself  to  the 
utmost  to  save  her.  I  felt  confident  that,  with  many  of 
the  Indians,  I  could  exert  in  her  favor  an  influence 
which  would  be  hard  to  overcome. 

Every  arrangement  jieing  completed,  we  mounted  our 
horses  and  pursued  our  journey,  traveling  upon  the 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  99 

canter  until  evening,  with  the  exception  of  about  an 
hour's  halt  at  noon,  in  order  to  rest  and  graze  our  horses. 
On  the  second  day,  about  two  o'clock,  we  arrived  at  the 
village,  and  were  met  and  escorted  in  with  the  usual  tu 
multuous  demonstration  characteristic  of  these  people. 
My  appearance  among  them  was  hailed  by  the  savages 
as  a  matter  of  gratulation,  wherever  my  bear-destroying 
exploits  were  known  amongst  them.  And  Wapsa-Ki- 
wan  was  received  with  the  respect  due  a  person  of  con 
sideration,  and  treated  with  all  the  kindness  and  courtesy 
that  their  savage  natures  would  permit. 

In  company  with  a  number  of  the  savages,  I  went  to 
the  tent  to  see  the  prisoners,  where  I  saw  ten  poor,  de 
graded  looking  savages  huddled  together  in  the  tent, 
under  charge  of  a  competent  guard.  Their  eyes  were 
all  fixed  upon  the  ground,  apparently  in  deep  medita 
tion  ;  in  which  position  they  continued  during  the  time 
I  observed  them.  Among  them  were  two  squaws  of 
the  Crow  nation,  and  they  were  all  nearly  naked.  The 
males  were  not  so  tall  as  the  Black-Feet  generally  are, 
but  were  muscular,  and  compactly  built.  The  females 
were  short  and  clumsy  in  their  appearance,  and  their 
features  were  almost  hideous. 

I  had  seen  as  yet  nothing  of  the  pale-face  squaw,  of 
whom  the  deputies  had  spoken ;  and  I  took  the  liberty 
to  inquire  of  the  guard  if  they  had  such  a  prisoner. 
One  of  them  pointed  me  to  the  opposite  corner  of  the 
tent,  where,  partially  covered  with  a  quantity  of  old, 
filthy  skins,  I  observed  the  form  of  a  female  laying,  to 
all  appearance,  sound  asleep. 


100  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

Her  appearance,  and  manner  of  breathing,  indicated 
extreme  weakness  and  fatigue,  if  not  disease.  Her  face 
was  pale  and  hectic.  Her  features  presented  great  reg 
ularity  of  outline,  and  before  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  savages,  she  had  no  doubt  been  a  handsome  woman, 
as  traces  of  what  she  had  once  been  still  lingered  about 
her  person. 

Whilst  contemplating  her  appearance  as  she  thus  lay 
sleeping,  many  strange  emotions  passed  through  my 
mind,  as  to  who  she  was,  how  she  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  savages,  and  the  miseries  untold  through 
which  she  had  probably  passed  since  she  had  become  a 
victim  of  their  cruelties. 

I  finally  asked,  and  obtained  leave  from  the  guard  to 
speak  to  her — for  at  this  time  all  the  sympathy  of  my 
nature  was  aroused  in  her  behalf.  I  stooped  and  spoke 
to  her  in  English,  saying :  "  Strange  lady,  how  fare 
you  ?"  She  opened  her  eyes,  and  with  an  appearance 
of  surprise,  gazed  steadily  in  my  face  for  some  time,  as 
though  doubting  the  correctness  of  her  senses — her  eyes 
meanwhile  filling  with  tears,  she  covered  them  with  her 
hands. 

The  eloquence  of  this  appeal  to  my  sympathies,  so 
affected  me,  that  in  my  own  mind  I  resolved,  if  possible, 
to  save  her  from  the  farther  brutality  of  the  savages,  or, 
with  her,  perish  at  their  hands. 

I  continued  to  address  her  in  a  kind  and  soothing 
manner,  and  so  far  gained  her  confidence,  that  she  en 
tered  into  conversation  with  me  ;  and  after  I  had  briefly 
informed  her  that  I  was  an  Englishman  by  birth  and 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  101 

education,  she  gave  me  a  hasty  account  of  her  capture 
by  the  savages,  and  her  subsequent  treatment  by  them, 
which  will  be  related  in  the  following  pages  of  this  book. 
She  seemed  almost  overcome  with  joy  and  gratitude, 
that  in  this  dark  hour  of  her  existence,  far  away  as  she 
supposed  from  any  civilized  being — the  captive  of  sav 
ages,  perhaps  as  degraded  and  brutal  as  any  upon  the 
earth — she  should  be  permitted  again  to  recognize  the 
face  of  a  countryman. 

She  also  told  me  that  her  health  was  rapidly  declining ; 
and  that  the  exposure  and  cruelty  to  which  she  had  been 
subjected  within  the  last  few  days — after  having  been 
taken  prisoner  by  these  Indians,  and  compelled  to  travel 
on  foot  in  a  very  exposed  condition  for  many  miles — had 
completely  prostrated  her. 

I  promised  her  that  I  would  spare  no  means  within 
my  power  to  save  her  from  the  horrible  doom  which  I 
had  no  doubt  was  pending  over  the  heads  of  the  pris 
oners.  She  said  that  such  had  been  her  suffering  and 
exposure  since  her  captivity,  that  death,  even  in  its 
darkest  and  most  repulsive  form,  had  lost  its  terrors  to 
her,  and  that  she  had  often  asked  her  Maker  to  send  her 
death,  as  a  blessed  relief  from  all  her  sorrows,  and  thus 
terminate  a  state  of  existence  which  had  become  a  bur 
then  to  her,  and  that  she  had  hoped  that  her  day  of  de 
parture  was  at  hand.  She,  however,  finally  consented 
that  I  should  exert  my  influence  in  her  behalf,  more  as 
'  a  gratification  to  me,  probably,  than  in  consonance  with 
her  own  desires.  I  now  took  my  leave,  promising  to 
come  again  as  soon  as  circumstances  would  admit. 


102  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

It  was  now  getting  toward  evening,  and  preparations 
to  light  the  camp-fires  were  rapidly  progressing  in  every 
direction.  The  night  was  spent  by  the  savages  in  the 
usual  revelry,  and  early  in  the  morning  every  one  was 
agog  for  the  council,  which  was  to  terminate  the  fate  of 
the  prisoners  on  this  day.  The  camp  for  the  ceremony 
was  pitched  about  three  miles  south  of  the  village,  be 
neath  the  shade  of  a  number  of  large  trees,  skirting  the 
bank  of  a  small  stream.  About  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  the  savages,  preceded  by  the  prisoners,  left  the 
village  for  the  encampment. 

Through  the  influence  of  Hohoako-Kiwa  and  some 
of  the  other  Indians  of  our  party,  I  obtained  permission 
for  the  pale-face  prisoner  to  ride  my  horse  to  the  camp, 
upon  the  plea  of  her  indisposition. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  camp,  I  assisted  her  to  alight, 
and  she  thanked  me  cordially  for  these  acts  of  kindness 
toward  her.  The  prisoners  were  kept  in  charge  of  the 
guard  until  the  council  had  assembled,  when  they  were 
conducted  into  the  midst  of  the  circle  formed  by  the 
savages. 

For  some  time  previous  I  had  been  busy  with  Hoho 
ako-Kiwa,  and  the  other  savages  with  whom  I  was  ac 
quainted,  in  behalf  of  the  pale-face  prisoner,  and  per 
haps  for  my  gratification  more  than  anything  else,  they 
promised  to  do  all  they  could  to  save  her  life.  When  I 
informed  them  that  she  belonged  to  my  country,  and, 
like  myself,  had  been  taken  prisoner,  they  were  greatly 
surprised,  and  seemed  at  once  to  comprehend  my  anxiety 
for  her  relief;  and  from  this  time  took  an  active  part  in 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET    INDIANS.  103 

her  behalf.  The  chief  said  that  her  fate  would  depend 
altogether  upon  the  action  of  the  council — as  all  ques 
tions  of  this  kind,  according  to  the  customs  of  their 
nation,  were  determined  in  this  way ;  although  he 
thought,  in  deference  to  my  wishes,  and  the  estimation 
in  which  I  was  held  by  many  warriors  of  the  nation,  as 
well  as  from  the  fact  that,  being  a  prisoner  among  the 
Crows,  she  would  not  be  regarded  as  an  enemy,  that 
her  life  would  be  spared. 

As  I  had  been  regularly  initiated  into  the  honors  of  a 
warrior  of  the  Black-Foot  nation,  as  a  reward  for  the 
services  I  had  rendered  them,  in  destroying  some  of 
their  most  dreaded  enemies,  I  had  the  same  right  to  sit 
in  council,  speak,  and  vote,  that  aaiy  other  warrior  had, 
and  on  this  occasion  I  was  determined  to  enjoy  the 
privilege. 

The  ceremonies  observed  by  this  council  were  sub 
stantially  the  same  as  those  observed  in  the  trial  of 
Moulton  and  myself,  elsewhere  related.  A  number  of 
the  chiefs  and  warriors  had  addressed  the  council — a 
majority  of  whom  argued  in  favor  of  the  sentence  of 
death  against  all  the  prisoners,  by  burning  at  the  stake. 
Hohoako-Kiwa  and  a  few  others,  in  their  speeches,  ex- 
cepted  the  pale-face  squaw  (as  they  called  her)  from 
this  terrible  penalty — giving,  as  reasons,  her  innocence 
of  crime  against  the  nation,  and  my  earnest  desire  to 
save  her  ;  and  urging  my  claims  to  be  gratified  in  this 
respect,  from  the  eminent  services  I  had  rendered,  and 
might  still  render  the  nation. 


104  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

After  the  chiefs  and  warriors  had  concluded,  I  arose, 
and  addressed  the  council  substantially  as  follows  : 

I  remarked,  that  in  conversation  with  the  prisoner,  I 
had  learned  that  she  was  a  countrywoman  of  mine,  who 
had  been  taken  prisoner  by  a  tribe  of  Indians  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  had,  without 
any  fault  of  her  own,  been  sold  from  one  tribe  to  another, 
until  she  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Crows,  where 
she  was  recently  found  and  taken  prisoner  by  a  band  of 
the  Black-Foot  nation ;  and,  in  making  this  request,  I 
was  but  conforming  to  the  usages  of  my  own  country, 
which,  upon  all  occasions,  urged  upon  its  citizens  the 
claims  of  humanity,  when  any  of  its  people  were  found 
in  distress.  I  reminded  them,  that  since  I  had  been 
with  them  I  had  tried  in  every  thing  to  conform,  to  their 
usages,  and  had,  in  several  instances,  been  of  important 
service  to  the  tribe,  as  they  themselves  were  willing  to 
acknowledge.  And  warning  them  against  provoking 
the  anger  of  the  great  Spirit,  (who  gave  me  the  power 
to  serve  them,)  by  rejecting  my  petition,  I  sat  down 
amid  a  profound  silence. 

This  address  was  delivered  in  their  own  language,  as 
they  could  understand  no  other,  and  at  this  time  I  had 
so  far  acquired  a  knowledge  of  theirs,  that  I  could  un 
derstand  and  speak  it  quite  intelligibly.  During  the 
delivery  of  my  remarks,  the  Indians  gave  me  profound 
attention,  and  some  of  them  seemed  to  receive  what  I 
said  with  great  satisfaction  ;  while  from  the  countenances 
of  others,  it  was  plain  that  what  I  was  saying  was  dis 
tasteful  to  them. 

The  council  broke  up  about  three  o'clock,  without 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  105 

coming  to  any  defiinite  conclusion  in  the  case  of  the 
pale-face ;  but  the  savages  were  all  sentenced  to  be 
burned  on  the  two  following  days. 

After  the  deliberations  of  the  council  had  concluded 
for  the  day,  the  prisoners  were  conducted  back  to  their 
quarters  in  charge  of  the  guard,  and  after  eating  a  little 
broiled  meat,  I  again  visited  their  tent,  where  I  found 
the  object  of  my  solicitude  sitting  up,  and  trying  to  eat 
some  uncooked  venison  which  had  been  given  her  by 
the  guard.  I  inquired  if  she  would  not  prefer  to  have 
it  broiled.  She  said  she  would  ;  but  since  her  captivity 
amongst  the  savages,  she  had  rarely  enjoyed  so  great  a 
luxury.  I  went  to  our  tent  and  procured  a  few  choice 
slices  of  venison,  broiled  them  nicely  over  the  fire,  and 
carried  them  to  her.  She  seemed  to  relish  the  meat  very 
much,  and  was  more  cheerful  than  I  had  before  seen  her. 

She  inquired  of  me  as  to  the  result  of  the  council, 
and,  after  having  informed  her  of  every  thing  concerning 
it,  she  thanked  me  with  much  feeling  for  the  interest  I 
had  taken  in  her  case.  She  said  she  thought  her  time 
had  come,  and  that  she  was  resigned  to  receive  her  re 
lease  in  any  way  her  Heavenly  Father  should  permit. 

I  endeavored  to  re-assure  her,  by  telling  her  I  hoped 
she  had  many  years  yet  to  live,  and  that  she  would  ulti 
mately  be  enabled  to  return  to  her  friends  and  country. 

After  preserving  silence  for  a  few  moments,  she  said : 
"  No  !  I  shall  never  again  see  my  friends  or  country  in 
this  life :  the  indescribable  suffering  I  have  endured  for 
the  last  two  years  has  not  only  destroyed  my  constitu 
tion,  but  even  the  desire  of  life.  And,  were  it  even 


106  FIVE   YEAES   A   CAPTIVE 

possible  for  me  again  to  return  to  my  friends  in  England, 
such  is  the  prostration  of  my  spirits,  that,  after  the  ex 
citement  of  a  first  meeting  with  them  had  passed,  I 
should  again  relapse  into  a  life  of  solitary  misery,  but 
little  preferable  to  the  one  I  am  now  enduring.  All 
my  prospects  for  life  have  been  blasted,  and  I  have 
been  reduced  to  a  point  of  degradation  that  is  re 
volting  to  my  own  mind,  and  that  my  conscience  ab 
hors.  And  although  this  has  all  come  upon  me  without 
any  fault  of  my  own,  but  in  opposition  to  my  prayers, 
tears  and  agonized  efforts  to  the  contrary,  yet  the  con 
scious  innocence  and  purity  of  my  life,  prior  to  the 
dark  hour  when  I  became  a  victim  to  the  unrestrained 
passions  of  a  savage,  condemns  the  degradation  into 
which  I  have  fallen,  and  refuses  in  ^the  smallest  degree 
to  relinquish  an  iota  of  the  sentence  :  thus  rendering  life 
to  me  a  burden. 

"  It  is  a  truth  in  theology,  no  doubt,  as  well  as  in  com 
mon  sense,  that  we  are  only  responsible  for  that  over 
which  we  have  or  may  have  control.  But,  as  it  is 
equally  true  that  whether  degradation  be  brought  upon 
us  voluntarily  or  in  opposition  to  our  best  efforts,  and 
by  means  over  which  we  have,  or  can  have,  no  influence 
whatever,  purity  equally  condemns  the  thing  in  either 
case.  It  is  the  eyes  of  purity  which  are  constantly 
looking  in  upon  this  conscious  sense  of  degradation, 
(although  involuntary,)  which  poisons  and  renders  of 
fensive  to  my  taste,  the  cup  of  life." 

Such  were  the  candor  and  truthfulness  of  these  re 
marks,  that  I  dared  not  attempt  to  controvert  or  gainsay 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  107 

them.  I  told  her  that  I  hoped  Providence  would  so 
shape  our  future,  that  we  might  have  reason  to  rejoice 
in  the  knowledge  that  "  all  things  work  together  for  the 
good  of  those  who  love  and  serve  Him."  Expressing 
a  wish  that  she  might  enjoy  a  good  night's  rest,  I  bade 
her  farewell  for  the  night,  with  thoughts  more  sombre 
than  those  with  which  I  entered  the  tent. 

The  more  I  talked  with  her,  the  stronger  became  my 
interest  in  her  behalf ;  and  although,  as  matters  now 
looked,  it  was  hard  to  tell  what  would  be  her  fate,  I  still 
felt  a  consciousness  that  her  life  would  be  spared  ;  and, 
upon  learning  from  Hohoako-Kiwa  that  the  council 
would  be  convened  in  the  morning,  to  hear  again  from 
Wapsa-Kiwan,  I  felt  that  success  was  almost  certain. 

The  council  assembled  about  the  same  time  as  on  the 
previous  morning,  and  the  pale-face  squaw  was  con 
ducted  to  her  former  position  in  the  centre  of  the  circle. 
Prior  to  addressing  the  council,  Hohoako-Kiwa  beck 
oned  me  aside,  and  suggested  the  propriety,  in  my  re 
marks,  of  dwelling  with  a  great  deal  of  force  on  my 
power  to  destroy  ferocious  and  dangerous  animals,  and 
particularly  the  bears,  which  infest  their  country.  I 
thanked  him  for  the  suggestion,  and  returned  to  the 
council,  which  was  in  waiting  to  hear  me.  Before  I 
commenced  speaking,  one  of  the  chiefs  stated  to  the 
council,  that,  owing  to  a  difference  of  opinion,  the  coun 
cil  had  not  been  able  to  agree  in  regard  to  the  disposi 
tion  to  be  made  of  the  pale-face  squaw ;  and  they  had 
unanimously  agreed  to  meet  again  this  morning,  to  hear 
what  Wapsa-Kiwan  could  say  in  her  behalf,  and  why 


108  FIVE  YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

the  same  penalty  should  not  be  inflicted  on  her  that  was 
to  fall  on  the  other  prisoners.  He  farther  said  that  the 
usages  of  the  Block-Foot  nation  required  the  same 
penalty  to  be  inflicted  on  all  prisoners  taken  in  war,  or 
from  a  hostile  camp,  unless  especial  reasons  could  be 
shown  why  exceptions  should  be  made.  Having  con 
cluded  his  remarks,  he  resumed  his  seat  amid  the  pro- 
foundest  silence. 

The  council  now  gave  me  to  understand  that  they 
would  hear  my  argument.  I  arose  and  spoke  in  the 
Black-Foot  tongue  to  this  effect : 

"Warriors  and  braves  of  the  Black-Foot  nation  : — I 
am  not  insensible  to  the  great  kindness  you  have  been 
pleased  to  extend  to  me,  in  thus  permitting  me  to  ap 
pear  before  a  council  of  your  wise  men  and  braves,  in 
order  to  plead  the  cause  of  a  poor  white  squaw,  from 
my  own  country,  who,  upon  a  visit  to  see  her  father, 
many  miles  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
was  unfortunately  taken  prisoner  by  a  strange  tribe  of 
Indians  of  that  country,  and,  after  being  subjected  to 
untold  abuse  and  ill  treatment,  was  sold  to  another 
tribe,  and  still  another,  until  she  fell  into  the  hands  of 
those  whom  your  braves  recently  succeeded  in  chastising. 
And  then  and  there,  in  company  with  a  number  of 
others,  she  was  taken  captive,  and  is  now  on  her  trial 
before  this  council. 

Were  I  sensible  that  she  had  been  guilty,  even  in  the 
least  degree,  by  thought,  word,  or  deed,  against  the 
power  of  the  Black-Foot  nation,  I  should  not  so  far. 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  109 

presume  upon  the  magnanimity  of  this  council  as  to 
stand  here  in  her  defense.  But  such  is  not  the  fact. 
Like  the  swan  which  floats  upon  the  bosom  of  the 
waters  of  your  own  lakes,  her  life  has  been  pure  and 
spotless,  and  she  is  now  ready  to  thank  the  Great 
Spirit,  whom  she  loves  to  serve  and  obey,  that  she  has 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  braves  of  the  great  Black- 
Foot  nation,  where,  she  has  confidence  to  believe,  from 
assurances  that  I  have  given  her,  that  her  condition  will 
be  much  improved.  And  now  I  appeal  to  my  Black- 
Feet  brothers — make  not  your  pale-face  brother  a  liar 
before  his  countrywoman,  by  passing  a  severe  sentence. 

Since  I  have  been  among  you,  it  has  been  my  first 
object  to  deserve  and  have  the  confidence  of  your 
braves — esteeming  this  one  of  the  greatest  honors  to 
which  I  could  attain.  I  have,  on  several  occasions, 
risked  my  own,  in  order  to  save  the  lives  of  your  peo 
ple  ;  and  the  Great  Spirit  whom  I  worship  has  given 
me  power  over  bears,  and  all  other  ferocious  beasts,  that 
I  may,  upon  any  occasion  that  I  desire,  call  to  my  aid, 
for  their  destruction,  the  thunder  and  lightning  which 
sleeps  upon  the  summits  of  your  mountains. 

This  is  the  first  request  that  I  have  asked  at  your 
hands ;  and,  should  you  refuse  to  grant  it,  the  Great 
Spirit,  who  watches  over  and  protects  me,  may  take 
from  me  the  power  which  he  has  given  me  over  the 
beasts  of  the  forest ;  and  the  bears  and  other  desperate 
animals  may  be  let  loose  upon  you,  and  your  young 
men,  women,  and  children  may  be  destroyed  in  great 
numbers 


110  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

The  Great  Spirit  whom  I  serve  has  commanded  me 
to  appear  before  this  council  of  your  nation,  and  speak 
to  you  in  behalf  of  my  countrywoman,  that,  being  free 
from  guilt,  her  life  might  be  spared  at  your  hands." 

Having  said  thus  much,  I  sat  down,  and  all  remained 
silent  for  a  few  moments,  when  one  of  the  principal 
chiefs,  after  the  customary  approbatory  ugh  !  said  in  the 
Black-Foot  tongue,  "Pale  brother  talk  much  good;" 
when  the  exclamation  of  approbation  being  echoed  by 
many,  the  war-club  was  passed  around  the  circle,  with 
out  being  accepted  by  a  single  chief  or  warrior. 

My  remarks  upon  this  occasion  seemed  to  have  a  very 
great  effect  upon  the  council,  and  for  some  time  before 
I  had  concluded  them,  I  observed,  from  the  expression 
of  their  countenances,  that  they  were  being  appreciated 
by  them. 

During  the  time  I  was  speaking,  the  captive  sat  in  the 
same  position,  with  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  ground,  and 
the  color  in  her  face  would  come  and  go,  as  though 
some  fearful  struggle  was  in  progress  within.  I  had 
supposed  that  she  did  not  understand  what  I  was  say 
ing,  as  I  spoke  in  the  Black-Foot  language ;  but  she 
subsequently  told  me  that  she  comprehended  the  greater 
part  of  my  remarks,  as  there  was  a  great  similarity 
among  all  the  Indian  dialects  that  she  had  yet  heard. 

The  council  having  unanimously  declared  in  favor  of 
life  for  the  pale-face  squaw,  they,  at  the  same  time,  re 
solved  that  she  should  be  kept,  and  her  wants  supplied, 
under  my  care  and  direction. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  Ill 

A  tent  was  then  provided  for  her  reception  for  the 
time  being,  and  I  procured  the  services  of  an  old  squaw 
to  administer  to  her  wants,  until  we  were  ready  to  re 
turn  to  our  village. 

It  was  about  11  o'clock  when  the  council  broke  up, 
and  the  cruel  process  of  burning  the  prisoners  was  im 
mediately  commenced. 

I  should  have  made  an  effort  to  save  these  captives, 
also,  from  their  cruel  fate ;  but  I  knew  that  if  I  at 
tempted  this,  the  probability  was  that  I  should  fail  in 
every  part  of  it,  and  therefore  deemed  it  prudent  on 
my  part  only  to  ask  immunity  on  the  part  of  the  one  in 
whom  I  felt  most  interested. 

Five  stakes  had  been  driven  into  the  ground,  and  all 
the  Indian  prisoners  were  conducted  to  the  place  of 
execution,  and  five  of  them  were  fastened  to  the  stakes, 
and  the  fire  applied  to  the  faggots.  Whilst  this  was 
going  on,  and  during  the  whole  time  the  bodies  of  the 
captives  were  being  consumed,  the  usual  amount  of 
frightful  noise,  rejoicings,  and  savage  contortions  were 
kept  up. 

Such  was  the  horror  of  the  scene  to  me,  that  I 
withdrew  before  the  bodies  of  the  victims  were  con 
sumed.  I  was  astonished  at  the  firm  endurance  with 
which  these  ignorant  savages  endured  their  torments. 
When  they  were  completely  wrapped  in  the  flames,  they 
showed  not  the  least  sign  of  suffering — their  features 
retaining  the  same  rigid  firmness  as  before  they  were 
fastened  to  the  stake. 

Perhaps  no  one  who  has  not  witnessed  the  degrada- 


112  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

tion  and  cruelty  of  these  more  than  heathen  people,  can 
properly  appreciate  the  blessings  of  a  Christian  civiliza 
tion.  We  often  conclude  that  the  world  is  bad  enough, 
even  under  the  teachings  of  the  Scripture,  and  so  it  is ; 
but  fully  to  appreciate  the  blessings  which  a  Christian 
people  enjoy,  it  is  necessary  for  the  individual  to  at 
least  witness  the  wretched  state  of  ignorance,  degrada 
tion  and  shame  into  which  these  people  are  sunk. 

From  the  terrible  scene  of  cruelty  that  I  had  been 
witnessing,  I  returned  to  the  tent,  oppressed  with  the 
horrors  of  the  inhuman  spectacle.  I  felt  exceedingly 
anxious  to  leave  this  (to  me)  gloomy  place,  and  to  re 
turn  to  the  village  ;  but,  lest  such  a  suggestion  might 
give  offense  to  the  savages,  I  dared  not  mention  it1.  As 
all  I  had  to  hope  for  in  my  present  condition  depended 
upon  my  retaining  their  favor  and  confidence,  and  al 
though  my  heart  was  sad  and  oppressed  beyond  mea 
sure,  I  thought  it  prudent  to  at  least  assume  cheerful 
ness,  and  seem  to  enjoy  what  was  so  pleasing  to  them. 
Although  they  excused  me  from  taking  an  active  part 
in  these  tragic  scenes,  yet  they  insisted  that  I  should  be 
present  and  witness  them  ;  and  they  would  have  taken 
it  as  a  grave  offense  had  I  refused. 

On  my  return  to  the  tent,  I  found  Roxana  (for,  as 
she  told  me,  that  was  her  Christian  name)  sitting  up, 
and  apparently  engaged  in  deep  thought.  I  inquired 
after  her  health,  and  how  she  was  satisfied  with  the  re 
sult  of  the  council  in  her  case.  She  said  her  health 
was  as  good  as  it  had  been  for  some  time  past ;  and  as 
for  the  result  of  the  council  in  disposing  of  her  case, 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  113 

although  she  owed  me  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  she 
should  never  be  able  to  cancel,  yet  she  feared  the 
sequence  would  be,  merely  to  prolong  her  miseries  in 
this  life.  "Yet,"  said  she,  "inasmuch  as  it  has  seemed 
good,  in  the  wisdom  of  my  great  Benefactor,  that  I 
should  again  escape  with  my  life,  I  will  endeavor  to 
abide  cheerfully  my  time,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be 
content  with  my  unhappy  lot." 

I  endeavored,  by  conversation,  to  rouse  her  drooping 
spirits  to  cheerfulness,  and,  in  some  measure,  succeeded. 
But  so  deep  had  been  her  humiliation,  and  so  indelible 
the  impression  it  had  made  on  her  mind,  that  she  seemed 
to  have  lost  all  taste  and  desire  for  any  thing  pertaining 
to  time  or  sense,  and  to  have  settled  down  into  a  deep 
and  permanent  melancholy.  I  still  entertained  hopes, 
however,  that,  by  care  and  attention,  I  could  arouse  her 
from  this  seeming  stupor. 

I  had  thus  far  prepared  her  food  with  my  own  hands, 
and  although  I  had  nothing  but  venison  to  give  her,  yet 
she  seemed  to  enjoy  it  with  something  of  a  relish,  and 
to  be  very  thankful  that  her  condition  in  this  respect 
was  so  much  improved.  She  told  me  that  since  her 
capture,  now  over  two  years,  her  food  had  almost  en 
tirely  been  confined  to  raw  flesh — often  of  the  most  for 
bidding  and  filthy  kind. 

As  a  general  rule,  all  the  savages  of  this  region,  so 
far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  eat  a  large  proportion  of 
their  meat  raw ;  and  I  have  seen  them,  before  life  was 
extinct  in  an  animal,  cut  pieces  from  the  quivering  flesh 
and  eat  them. 
5* 


114  FIVE  YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

They  are  uniformly  filthy  to  excess,  and  take  no  pains 
whatever  to  avoid  dirt  in  their  cookery.  A  super 
abundance  of  the  hair  and  excrement  of  the  animal  is 
no  impediment  to  the  appetites  of  these  savages,  when 
found  in  conjunction  (which  is  nearly  always  the  case) 
with  the  flesh. 

On  this  evening,  I  prepared  a  bed  for  Roxana,  of  a 
number  of  clean,  fresh  skins,  which  I  collected  together 
for  that  purpose,  and,  in  the  morning,  had  the  satisfac 
tion  to  learn  from  her,  that  she  had  enjoyed  a  good 
night's  rest,  and  that  she  felt  much  improved. 

To-day,  the  remaining  five  prisoners  were  to  be 
burned,  and  preparations  were  in  active  progress  for  the 
consummation.  About  9  o'clock,  the  prisoners  were 
conducted  to  the  stakes,  and  securely  attached  thereto, 
when  the  fire  was  applied  to  the  faggots,  and  the  same 
scene  of  horror,  in  every  essential  particular,  that  was 
witnessed  yesterday,  was  again  enacted.  The  victims 
exhibited  the  same  firm  stoicism  as  that  shown  by 
those  who  had  suffered  first,  and  bore  their  torments 
with  as  little  concern,  apparently,  as  any  martyr  who 
ever  suffered  in  the  cause  of  his  Master. 

The  encampment  having  broke  up,  we  returned  to  the 
village,  two  miles  from  the  camp,  where  we  spent  the 
night,  and,  in  the  morning,  set  off  for  our  own  village. 
Through  the  assistance  of  Hohoako-Kiwa,  I  procured  a 
horse  for  Roxana  to  ride,  as  it  was  no  part  of  my  plan 
that  she  should  remain  behind ;  and  the  Indians,  in  def 
erence  to  me,  seemed  willing  that  this  matter  should  be 
left  entirely  to  my  control.  I  constructed  a  kind  of 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  115 

saddle  of  a  large  bear-skin  for  her  use,  and  although 
we  had  to  ride  very  fast  in  order  to  keep  up  with  the 
Indians,  she  stood  the  journey  much  better  than  I  had 
expected. 

We  arrived  at  our  village  on  the  third  day  of  our 
homeward-bound  journey,  and  were  made  welcome  by 
the  inhabitants  who  we  had  left  behind.  The  chief 
very  kindly  invited  me  to  bring  the  pale-face  squaw  to 
his  lodge,  which  offer  I  gladly  accepted  for  the  timo 
being. 

Hohoako-Kiwa  and  hia  wife  had  always  treated  me 
with  as  much  kindness  and  consideration  as  was  consistent 
with  the  ignorance  and  degradation  of  their  savage  state; 
and,  if  for  no  other  reason,  I  hoped,  for  the  sake  of  Wapsa 
Kiwan,  they  would  receive  Roxana  in  the  same  way. 
And  in  this  I  was  not  mistaken ;  for,  whilst  we  were 
inmates  of  their  lodge,  I  have  no  recollection  of  ever 
making  a  request  on  her  behalf,  but,  if  possible,  it  was 
complied  with. 

At  my  request,  Hohoako-Kiwa  permitted  me  to  se 
lect,  from  the  fur  taken  from  our  camp  at  the  time  of 
our  capture,  such  skins  as  I  might  wish,  for  the  purpose 
of  supplying  Roxana's  necessities  in  the  way  of  cloth 
ing.  I  made  choice  of  such  skins  as  were  the  finest, 
and  the  most  easily  put  into  the  proper  form.  Upon 
presenting  these  furs  to  Roxana,  she  expressed  much 
gratitude,  as  her  wardrobe  amounted  to  scarcely  any 
thing — being  simply  the  filthy  skins  worn  by  the  sav 
ages  among  whom  she  had  been  living.  In  a  very  short 
time  she  had  prepared  for  herself,  from  these  skins,  a 


116  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

kind  of  wrapper,  which,  although  not  exactly  after  the 
cut  of  Parisian  style,  was,  nevertheless,  very  comforta 
ble  to  her,  and  not  altogether  without  grace  in  appear 
ance. 

I  was  much  pleased  at  this  improvement  in  the  way 
of  clothing,  and,  at  my  request,  the  chief's  wife  wrought 
for  her  a  neat  and  tidy  pair  of  moccasins  ;  as  thus  far, 
since  her  shoes  had  been  taken  from  her  immediately 
after  her  capture,  she  had  nothing  to  wear  upon  her 
feet. 

The  cut  of  her  wrapper  seemed,  at  first,  to  amuse  the 
squaws  exceedingly;  but,  in  a  short  time,  they  seemed  to 
take  no  further  notice  of  its  oddity,  and  she  was  left  in 
the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  her  own  taste,  in  this 
particular. 

Upon  taking  Koxana  to  the  chief's  lodge,  it  was  not 
my  intention,  by  any  means,  to  make  it  a  place  of  per 
manent  abode,  but,  with  the  chief's  permission,  to  build 
a  cabin  of  my  own,  where  the  necessities  and  conve 
niences  required  for  an  invalid  might  be  better  supplied, 
as  I  entertained  strong  hopes  that,  notwithstanding  the 
shattered  condition  of  her  constitution,  and  her  conse 
quent  prostration  of  spirits,  with  careful  nursing,  she 
would  ultimately  recover.  Upon  my  making  the  re 
quest,  the  chief  gave  me  permission  to  build  a  cabin  for 
our  use,  and  pointed  out  the  place,  in  the  vicinity  of 
his  own. 

With  one  of  the  axes  taken  from  us  at  our  capture, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  I  built,  from  logs  and 
puncheons,  a  habitation  which,  for  permanence,  neat- 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  lit 

ness  and  comfort,  was  far  in  advance  of  any  thing  of  the 
kind  in  the  village,  the  chief's  residence  not  excepted. 
I  put  into  it  a  good  puncheon  floor,  and  covered  it  with 
a  permanent  roof  of  the  same  material,  and  with  mud, 
logs,  and  sticks,  I  made  a  passable  chimney.  The  in 
terstices  between  the  logs  of  the  cabin,  I  closed  with 
mud  and  sticks,  so  that,  in  the  coldest  winter  weather,  I 
could  make  it  comfortable.  A  door  and  window  af 
forded  us  the  means  of  locomotion  and  light,  both  of 
which  could  be  closed  at  pleasure,  by  means  of  swinging 
doors,  made  from  hewn  puncheons,  hung  upon  wooden 
hinges,  and  fastened  with  pins. 

During  the  progress  of  my  building,  I  was  constantly 
surrounded  by  a  troop  of  savages,  of  every  age  and 
both  sexes,  whose  curiosity  seemed  greatly  excited  at 
my  singular  style  of  workmanship.  They  offered  me 
no  assistance  whatever,  in  any  way,  but  simply  loitered 
about,  in  a  state  of  masterly  idleness  and  inactivity. 
But  as  this  may  probably  be  considered  as  the  normal 
condition  of  these  savages,  perhaps  there  is  nothing 
strange  in  it. 

Having  completed  my  cabin,  I  constructed,  with  the 
axe  and  our  auger,  (which  the  Indians  had  preserved 
since  our  capture,)  two  rough  bedsteads — one  for  the 
use  of  Roxana,  and  the  other  for  myself.  These  beds 
were  supplied  with  a  number  of  buffalo,  bear,  and  other 
skins,  as  clothing.  Our  bedsteads  afforded  the  savages 
a  new  object  for  curiosity,  and  gave  them  great  latitude 
for  exercising  their  faculty  of  wonder,  as  they  had  never 
before  seen  anything  like  them,  and  would,  probably, 


118  FIVE  YEAES  A  CAPTIVE 

never  have  discovered  the  proper  use  for  them,  had  not 
the  skins  been  placed  upon  them. 

At  this  stage  of  my  improvements  in  building  and 
furnishing,  we  moved  into  our  new  habitation,  and  found 
it,  under  the  circumstances,  neat,  commodious,  and  com 
fortable;  indeed,  so  far  were  we  in  advance  of  our 
neighbors,  in  the  style  of  our  town  residence  and  other 
comforts,  that  we  might,  with  justice,  have  been  obnox 
ious  to  the  charge  of  aristocracy. 

By  the  use  of  the  axe  and  the  auger,  and  some  shells 
prepared  by  the  Indians,  I  also  added  to  our  furniture 
a  few  benches  and  stools,  and  a  wooden  bucket,  which 
we  found  of  great  service. 

I  succeeded  in  persuading  an  old  squaw  to  come  and 
live  with  us  in  our  cabin,  that,  during  my  absence  in  our 
hunting  excursions,  and  upon  other  calls  for  my  time, 
Roxana  might  have  the  attention  her  circumstances  re 
quired,  (at  least,  as  far  as  a  squaw  could  render  it.) 
Before  leaving  her  to  her  mercy,  however,  I  took  great 
pains  in  showing  her  what  I  wanted  done  during  my 
absence,  and  how  to  do  it,  and  was  pleased  to  realize 
the  fact,  that  Ke-Ka  (which  was  the  squaw's  name) 
took  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  trying  to  deserve  my  com 
mendation  in  all  that  she  undertook  to  do.  And  al 
though  she  was  exceedingly  ignorant  and  awkward  at 
first,  yet,  by  her  desire  to  please,  and  untiring  patience 
on  the  part  of  Roxana,  she  soon  became  of  great  value 
to  us.  This  squaw  was  a  widow,  having  lost  her  hus 
band  and  three  sons  in  the  wars  with  the  Flat-Heads, 
some  years  before ;  and,  having  no  other  children,  she 


AMONG  THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  11V) 

was  almost  entirely  dependent  upon  the  generosity  of 
the  warriors  for  a  scanty  subsistence  ;  consequently,  she 
seemed  well  pleased  with  the  comforts  of  her  new  home, 
for  besides  the  other  advantages  that  she  enjoyed  from 
being  with  us,  she  seemed  to  look  with  much  complacency 
upon  our  well-filled  larder,  which  was  at  this  time  stocked 
with  meats  of  almost  every  kind  which  the  country  af 
forded.  And,  to  her  honor  be  it  said,  ingratitude  was 
not  one  of  her  sins.  She  always  appeared  grateful  for 
the  comforts  which  she  enjoyed  with  us,  and  yielded  a 
ready  obedience  to  Roxana's  and  my  commands. 

It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  for  me  to  inform  the  reader, 
that  the  more  I  saw  of  and  conversed  with  Roxana, 
the  more  deeply  I  became  interested  in  her.  So  help 
less,  innocent  and  confiding,  yet  entirely  candid  and 
truthful  in  all  her  ways  did  she  seem,  that  at  times  I 
could  scarcely  realize  that  the  stricken  being  before  me 
was  of  this  world.  So  terribly  had  her  spirit  been 
chastened  by  the  many  trials  and  perils  through  which 
she  had  passed,  that  her  humility  and  trust,  (in  her  Heav 
enly  Protector,)  like  that  of  a  little  child,  seemed  to  flow 
unbidden  and  without  affectation  from  her  heart. 

Hitherto,  since  my  captivity,  my  life  had  seemed  al 
most  objectless,  and  my  only  hopes  were  centered  in  the 
probability  of  my  escape  from  the  savages.  But  now, 
Providence  had  entirely  changed  my  relations  in  life ; 
for,  although  I  had  not  entirely  given  over  my  hope  of 
escape,  yet,  in  consequence  of  the  sacred  charge  which 
had  been  placed,  entirely  Providentially,  under  my  pro 
tective  care,  the  time  and  the  opportunity  for  such  an 
effort  on  my  part  had  been  indefinitely  postponed. 


120  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

Should  Roxana  regain  her  health,  and  again  become 
strong  and  vigorous,  it  was  my  intention  to  try  to  effect 
her  escape,  as  well  as  my  own ;  and  to  use  my  best  ef 
forts  to  make  our  way  back  to  some  one  of  the  posts  of 
the  Company  on  the  Pacific.  But,  in  the  present  state 
of  her  health,  such  an  enterprise  would  be  little  better 
than  madness ;  and  when  her  health  would  admit  of  so 
dangerous  an  undertaking,  if  ever,  was  uncertain. 

But,  let  circumstances  lead  as  they  would,  I  was  de 
termined  never  to  leave  this  helpless  creature  to  the 
mercies  of  the  savages ;  but,  if  necessary,  in  order  to  her 
sustenance  and  protection,  to  spend  the  remaining  por 
tion  of  my  days  with  these  savages,  amid  the  gorges 
and  defiles  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  adjacent 
plains  and  prairies. 

A  considerable  portion  of  my  time  was  necessarily 
spent  in  company  with  the  savages  in  the  chase.  On 
these  occasions,  I  would  frequently  be  absent  from  the 
village  from  two  to  three  weeks  ;  but  I  had  the  greatest 
confidence  in  the  care  and  attention  of  Ke-Ka  towards 
Roxana.  In  this  way,  I  was  enabled  to  keep  our  cabin 
plentifully  supplied  with  the  best  of  meats,  and  skins, 
which  were  equally  useful  in  supplying  us  with  wearing 
apparel  and  bed-clothes. 

Upon  returning  home  after  our  absence  on  these  oc 
casions,  I  was  uniformly  greeted  with  the  kindest  ex 
pressions  of  sympathy,  in  all  that  had  occurred  to  us 
whilst  we  were  gone  ;  not  from  Roxana  alone,  but  even 
Ke-Ka,  after  a  time,  would  come  with  humble  importu 
nity,  endeavoring  to  make  herself  useful,  by  doing  all 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  121 

she  knew  to  render  me  comfortable ;  and  I  sometimes 
thought  that,  after  all,  I  had  great  reason  to  be  thank 
ful  to  Providence  for  the  gift  of  at  least  a  peaceful 
home.  And  when  I  contrasted  myself  and  my  sur 
roundings  with  the  miserable,  squalid  beings  with  whom 
I  was  daily  associated,  and  their  filthy  habitations,  their 
ignorance  and  superstition,  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  thank 
Him,  who  had  made  me  to  differ  from  my  fellows.  And 
yet  this  is  the  great  Black-Foot  nation  ! 

In  our  next  chapter,  I  will  give  a  more  particular  ac 
count  of  Roxana — her  capture,  and  subsequent  treat 
ment  by  the  Indians. 


122  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 


CHAPTER    VII  . 

WE  doubt  not  but  that  the  reader,  by  this  time,  is 
anxious  to  know  something  more  of  the  history  of  Rox- 
an#  and  her  misfortunes,  which  we  will  now  proceed  to 
relate,  substantially  in  her  own  language. 

Roxana  Wakeman  was  the  daughter  of  James  Wake- 
man,  who  was  an  extensive  stockholder  in,  and  secretary 
to,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  He  was  regarded  as 
being  a  man  of  great  wealth,  and  had  but  three  children, 
all  of  whom  were  daughters — Roxana  being  the  eldest 
of  the  three,  and  her  father's  favorite.  The  family  re 
sided  in  London,  while  the  father  had  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  time,  for  the  several  last  years,  in  Oregon, 
attending  to  the  interests  of  the  Company.  Having 
made  a  visit  home,  and  spent  some  time  with  his  family, 
he  again  returned  to  Oregon  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  IT 9 9,  taking  with  him  Roxana,  then  a  sprightly 
girl  in  her  seventeenth  year. 

Being  naturally  of  a  romantic,  adventurous  turn  of 
mind,  and  being  much  with  her  father  during  his  stay 
at  home,  she  had  heard  him  from  time  to  time  speak 
of  the  greatness  of  the  Western  Continent — its  lofty 
mountains,  its  majestic  rivers,  and  the  grandeur  and 
beauty  of  its  wide-spread  prairie  scenery,  where  a  gently 
undulating  surface,  often  many  miles  in  extent,  covered 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  123 

with  tall  grass,  interspersed  with  the  most  gorgeously 
beautiful  of  Flora's  treasures,  variegated  here  and  there 
by  a  clump  of  beautiful  young  timber,  and  the  whole 
scene  enlivened  frequently  by  almost  innumerable  herds 
of  every  species  of  wild  game  found  in  this  region.  By 
listening  to  her  father's  glowing  descriptions,  Roxana 
caught  a  portion  of  his  enthusiasm,  and  begged  to  be 
permitted  to  accompany  him  to  this  (in  her  imagination) 
almost  fairy  land. 

Mr.  Wakeman  at  first  peremptorily  refused  the  re 
quest  of  his  daughter,  urging  upon  her  consideration 
the  perils  of  the  voyage,  and  the  very  great  exposure 
of  various  kinds  to  which  one  so  tenderly  reared  would 
be  subjected  by  a  residence  in  this  wild,  although  sub 
lime  and  beautiful  country.  But  these  representations 
only  increased  Roxana's  desire  to  accompany  her  father, 
that  she  might  add  to  his  comfort,  by  nursing  him  in 
sea-sickness,  or  any  other  affliction  which  might  befall 
him  in  the  long  voyage,  and  enliven  his  leisure  hours 
during  his  remaining  sojourn  in  the  Western  wilds  She 
urged  this  reasoning  strongly  upon  her  father,  and  he, 
probably  pleased  to  find  a  spirit  so  near  akin  to  his  own 
in  his  favorite  child,  and  intending  to  return  to  England 
in  the  autumn  of  the  following  year,  in  an  evil  hour, 
consented  ;  and  preparations  were  immediately  made  for 
the  voyage.  Their  ocean  journey  was  tedious,  but 
prosperous,  and  they  arrived  safely,  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  year  1799,  at  Vancouver,  one  of  the  stations  of  the 
Company  of  which  her  father  was  Secretary. 

During  the  winter,  all  went  pleasantly  in  the  small, 


124  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

yet  agreeable  circle  composed  of  the  officers  of  the 
Company  and  their  families  ;  and  to  Roxana  was  added 
the  especial  gratification  of  being  near  her  father. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1800,  Mr.  Wakeman  and 
his  daughter,  in  company  with  several  gentlemen,  and 
some  of  the  employees  about  the  station  to  act  as  ser 
vants  and  guards,  set  out  from  Vancouver  for  another 
station,  some  distance  in  the  interior.  Mr.  Wakeman 
and  Roxana  were  traveling  in  a  kind  of  pioneer  dili 
gence,  drawn  by  two  horses,  which  are  sometimes  used 
in  these  countries.  The  other  members  of  the  party 
were  all  riding  on  horseback. 

About  three  o'clock  on  the  second  day  of  their  jour 
ney,  they  were  surprised  by  a  party  of  Indians  who 
were  lying  in  ambush  for  them.  The  first  notice  they 
had  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  was  from  the  dis 
charge  of  a  volley  of  arrows,  by  which  every  man  in  the 
company,  riding  on  horseback,  was  more  or  less  injured, 
a  number  of  them  fatally.  They  then  surrounded  the 
men,  scalped  and  tomahawked  every  one  of  them, 
amidst  horrible  and  unearthly  shrieks  and  actions.  Mr. 
Wakeman's  horses  were  caught  and  held  by  a  num 
ber  of  the  savages,  while  others  took  hold  of  him,  and 
forcibly  drew  him  from  the  diligence,  and,  in  the  presence 
of  Roxana,  scalped  and  tomahawked  him. 

The  horses  were  all  secured  by  the  savages,  and  hav 
ing  stripped  the  clothing  from  the  murdered  men,  and 
secured  every  thing  that  struck  their  fancy,  they  de 
parted,  taking  Roxana  with  them  as  a  captive 

The  state  of  her  feelings  at  this  crisis  in  her  fortune, 


- 


AMONG  THE  BLACK- FEET  INDIANS.       125 

can  be  better  imagined  than  expressed.  How  terrible 
had  been  the  change  in  her  condition,  which  a  few  min 
utes  had  brought  about !  How  fearfully  fleeting  is  all 
earthly  hope !  The  merry  laugh  and  sprightly  conver 
sation  of  the  company,  had  scarcely  died  away  as  it 
floated  upon  the  passing  breeze,  ere  death,  in  horrid 
form,  had  done  his  work,  and  herself  taken  prisoner  by 
brutal  savages,  far  away  from  even  the  possibility  of  re 
lief.  A  scene  so  startling  and  tragical,  was  sufficient 
to  paralyze  with  horror  and  despair  the  mind  of  the 
most  reckless  adventurer,  let  alone  that  of  so  young  and 
tenderly  reared  a  child  as  Roxana. 

In  the  retreat,  the  savages  would  not  even  permit  her 
to  ride  one  of  the  horses  they  had  stolen  from  her  mur 
dered  parent ;  but,  in  the  rapid  march  which,  with  sav 
ages,  always  takes  place  after  a  scene  of  this  character, 
she  was  forced  forward  by  a  couple  of  them  (one  upon 
each  side)  at  an  unmerciful  rate,  during  the  remainder 
of  that  and  a  part  of  the  next  day. 

About  two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second 
day,  she  became  so  exhausted  with  this  (to  her)  unusual 
and  severe  labor,  that  she  sunk  down  upon  the  ground, 
unable  to  progress  another  step.  The  savages  observing 
this,  called  a  halt,  and  after  a  few  minutes'  consultation, 
ordered  up  one  of  the  horses,  and  placing  her  upon  its 
back,  proceeded  on  their  journey — one  of  the  savages 
leading  the  animal.  In  this  way,  late  in  the  evening  of 
the  second  day  of  her  captivity,  she  reached  the  camp, 
or  village,  of  the  savages.  On  arriving  at  the  village, 
she  was  passed  over  to  the  protecting  care  of  a  number 


126  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

of  the  squaws,  who  summarily  stripped  from  her  her 
own  clothes,  and  made  her  don  the  style  of  these  female 
savages,  which  consisted  of  a  short  kind  of  frock,  made 
of  the  skins  of  beasts,  extending  from  the  hips  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  knees,  and  of  most  filthy  and  forbidding 
aspect.  Before  continuing  the  chain  of  our  narrative 
further,  the  reader  will  indulge  me  in  a  brief  digression. 

At  the  time  a  portion  of  the  thrilling  incidents  that  I 
am  now  relating  were  taking  place,  I  still  resided  in 
England,  aud  there  read  the  accounts  of  this  massacre 
in  the  journals  of  the  day.  It  was  then  supposed,  and 
so  published  to  the  world,  that  Roxana  had  also  been 
murdered  by  the  savages — as  no  account  had  been  ob 
tained  of  her  (although  search  and  inquiry  was  made  by 
the  Company's  agents)  among  the  different  tribes  of  In 
dians  with  whom  the  Company  were  in  the  habit  of 
transacting  business. 

After  I  came  to  Oregon,  and  during  the  time  I  was 
in  the  employ  of  the  Company,  I  frequently  heard  the 
facts  connected  with  this  catastrophe  spoken  of,  and 
conversed  with  several  persons  who  had  been  well  ac 
quainted  with  Mr.  Wakeman,  and  that  had  also  seen 
Koxana  while  with  her  father  at  Vancouver.  They 
spoke  of  her  form  and  beauty  as  being  faultless,  and  in 
consequence  of  her  sprightly  conversation  and  wit,  she 
became  the  centre  of  attraction  to  all  those  who  had 
access  to  her  company. 

Although  her  remains  were  not  recognized  among 
those  of  the  men  subsequently  found,  and  buried  by  the 
Company,  yet  it  was  conceded  on  all  hands  that  she, 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  12T 

too,  had  been  murdered  by  the  savages.  The  reader 
can  therefore  judge  of  my  surprise,  when  at  the  council 
I  learned  from  her  own  lips  who  she  was,  and  the  tragi 
cal  scenes  of  the  two  last  years  of  her  life — and  in 
some  sense  will  also  account  for  the  interest  I  felt  in 
her  behalf. 

The  nation  in  whose  hands  Roxana  had  fallen,  she 
subsequently  learned,  was  the  Pischaus — a  people  that 
rank  low,  even  amongst  the  other  savages  of  this  wild 
region  of  country.  She  remained  with  these  degraded 
barbarians  about  six  months,  during  which  time  she  was 
forced  to  submit  to  the  most  cruel  and  loathsome  bond 
age.  The  squaws  seemed  to  take  peculiar  delight  in 
inflicting  upon  her  every  annoyance  and  indignity  that 
they  could  invent.  They  made  her  carry  heavy  bur 
thens  of  wood,  water,  &c.,  daily;  and  if  her  motion 
was  not  rapid  enough  to  please  them,  (which  was  seldom 
the  case,)  they  would  scourge  her  on  the  shoulders  and 
legs  with  thongs  made  of  dried  buffalo  hide,  knotted  at 
the  ends.  She  informed  me  that  frequently,  from  the 
scourgings,  the  blood  would  trickle  from  her  shoulders 
to  the  ground.  At  other  times,  they  bound  her  hand 
and  foot,  and  then  placed  her  on  the  outside  of  the  tent, 
to  remain  during  the  night,  upon  the  ground,  scarcely 
able  to  move,  exposed  to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  ele 
ments,  or  what  not. 

Her  food,  during  all  the  time  she  was  with  this  tribe 
of  savages,  was  of  the  most  loathsome  and  offensive 
kind  (although  equal  to  that  used  by  Jhese  people  in 
general).  It  often  consisted  of  a  little  meat,  far  gone 


128  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

in  a  state  of  putrefaction  ;  and  at  other  times,  she  would 
be  supplied  with  a  portion  of  the  entrails  of  some  ani 
mal  that  they  had  killed. 

A  favorite  dish  with  these  people  (to  which  she  was 
sometimes  invited)  consisted  of  a  kind  of  hash  made 
with  berries,  crickets,  and  bugs,  pummeled  and  stewed 
up  together,  by  means  of  a  heated  hole  excavated  in 
the  ground.  This,  with  many  of  the  savage  tribes,  is 
not  only  regarded  as  a  savory  morsel  of  rarity,  but  also 
of  great  delicacy,  and  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  the 
luxuries  of  which  it  is  composed,  is  but  seldom  partaken 
of.  These  savages,  like  most  of  the  other  tribes  that 
inhabit  this  country,  as  a  general  thing,  prefer  to  eat 
their  meat  in  a  raw  state,  with  as  much  filth  adhering 
to  it  as  possible. 

After  enduring  almost  everything  that  seems  possible 
for  humanity  to  put  up  with,  for  six  months,  Roxana 
was  sold  by  the  war  chief  of  this  tribe  to  a  warrior  of 
the  "Walla  Wallas."  This  warrior,  on  a  friendly  mis 
sion  to  the  Pischau  village,  observed  the  pale-face 
squaw,  (as  he  called  her,)  and  determined  to  purchase 
and  take  her  to  his  own  hut  to  be  his  squaw.  The  chief 
and  "  Walla  Walla"  warrior  soon  struck  upon  a  bar 
gain,  and  Roxana  was  formally  transferred  to  her  new 
master,  and  conveyed  by  him  upon  his  horse  to  his  hut, 
some  fifty  or  sixty  miles  distant.  On  arriving  at  the 
village,  the  warrior  called  on  his  chief  to  perform  the 
marriage  ceremony  between  himself  and  his  pale-face 
squaw ;  which,  after  the  exhibition  and  expression  of 
much  curiosity  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  at  the 


AMONG  THE  BLACK- FEET  INDIANS.       129 

novelty  (as  they  supposed)  of  the  stranger,  he  proceeded 
to  do.  Understanding  from  the  chief  (principally  by 
signs)  what  was  about  to  take  place,  Roxana  endeav 
ored  to  break  away  from  the  clutches  of  the  loathsome 
brute,  but  was  firmly  grasped  by  two  other  savages,  and 
held  as  in  a  vice. 

The  chief  then  proceeded  to  explain  to  her  the  nature 
of  the  ceremony,  by  informing  her  that  the  warrior  had 
bought  her  from  the  Pischau  chief,  and  that,  according 
to  their  customs,  she  was  his  property,  and  that  there 
fore  he  had  a  right  to  dispose  of  her  in  any  way  that 
he  saw  proper ;  that,  by  becoming  his  squaw,  she  ought 
rather  to  esteem  herself  highly  honored,  and  favored 
even  above  many  of  the  squaws  belonging  to  their  own 
tribe. 

At  this  awful  juncture  in  her  life,  Roxana  said  she 
mentally  prayed  to  the  Supreme  Being,  if  it  was  con 
sistent  with  His  will,  to  remove  her  from  a  state  of 
degradation  so  ineffably  bitter  and  loathsome  to  her — 
as  death,  in  any  form,  no  matter  how  revolting,  would 
be  to  her  infinitely  preferable  to  it. 

The  ceremony,  however,  of  which  she  understood  but 
little,  was  gone  through  with  by  the  chief,  while  she 
was  firmly  held  by  the  two  savages.  She  was  then,  for 
the  time  being,  put  in  charge  of  the  warrior's  mother — 
a  lusty  and  almost  frightful  looking  squaw,  considerably 
advanced  in  years.  In  less  than  an  hour  from  the  time 
the  ceremony  had  been  finished,  she  heard,  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  hut,  a  great  amount  of  noise  and  up 
roar  among  the  savages ;  and  before  she  had  time  to 


130  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

ascertain  the  cause,  the  savage  to  whom  she  had  so  un 
ceremoniously  been  married  a  few  minutes  before,  was 
carried  by  several  others  and  laid  upon  the  ground,  in 
front  of  his  hut,  a  bloody- corpse. 

Roxana  subsequently  learned  from  the  mother  of  the 
dead  warrior,  that  he  had  been  put  to  death  by  a  young 
warrior  of  the  same  tribe,  to  avenge  the  death  of  his 
brother,  who  had  some  time  before,  in  a  melee,  been 
killed  by  her  son.  The  young  savage  had  for  some  time 
been  seeking  an  opportunity  of  wreaking  his  vengeance 
upon  his  adversary,  but  hitherto  without  success.  Learn 
ing  what  was  going  on  upon  this  occasion,  and  naturally 
supposing  that  in  the  excitement  and  festivities  of  the 
occasion,  he  would  be  less  upon  his  guard  than  ordina 
rily,  he  took  advantage  of  an  occasion  that  the  warrior 
thought  peculiarly  propitious  to  his  happiness,  and,  with 
the  precaution  and  determination  peculiar  to  the  Indian 
character,  stole  upon  him  unobserved,  and  speedily  ter 
minated  his  earthly  existence,  by  piercing  him  to  the 
heart  with  his  spear. 

Upon  learning  these  facts,  Roxana  thanked  the  Lord 
that,  in  His  own  good  time  and  way,  He  had  preserved 
her  honor,  by  removing  the  cause  of  her  greatest  trouble, 
and  forever  severing  the  tie  which,  contrary  to  her  con 
sent,  was  sought  to  be  fastened  upon  her  by  these  de 
graded  barbarians.  She  fully  believed  that  her  prayer 
had  been  heard  and  answered  by  the  Almighty — not,  it 
is  true,  in  the  way  she  expected  it,  but  in  that  form 
which  accorded  with  His  infinite  wisdom  and  benev 
olence.  Although  her  condition  still  seemed  forlorn  and 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  131 

beyond  all  human  hope,  yet  she  tried  to  believe  that  the 
grace  of  God  would  be  sufficient  for  her  in  every  hour 
of  need. 

Sometime  during  the  night,  the  body  of  the  dead  sav 
age  was  removed  to  another  place,  and  the  next  day  was 
buried  according  to  their  customs  upon  such  occasions. 
She  was  surprised  at  the  apparent  little  notice  taken  of 
this  tragic  scene  by  the  other  savages,  and  especially  by 
the  mother  of  the  deceased  ;  for,  instead  of  giving  them 
selves  up  to  sorrow  and  mourning,  they  seemed  rather 
to  make  the  occasion  one  of  hilarity  and  rejoicing.  The 
mother  of  the  deceased  exhibited  no  traces  of  sorrow 
whatever,  and  seemed  to  regard  the  occurrence  as  simply 
a  link  in  the  chain  of  passing  events.  She  informed 
Roxana  that  transactions  of  that  character  were  of  fre 
quent  occurrence  among  their  people — that  where  the 
life  of  a  warrior  had  been  taken  by  the  hand  of  his  fel 
low,  their  customs  permitted  a  relative  or  friend  of  the 
deceased  to  take  that  of  the  slayer  in  turn. 

Roxana  continued  to  reside  in  the  deceased  warrior's 
hut  with  his  mother,  who,  from  the  fact,  no  doubt,  that 
she  regarded  her  as  the  squaw  of  her  late  son,  treated 
her  better  than  she  would  otherwise  have  done.  While 
with  this  tribe  of  Indians,  however,  she  passed  anything 
else  than  an  inactive  life ;  for,  besides  assisting  the  old 
squaw  in  all  her  labors,  she  was  frequently  handed  over 
by  her  to  perform  labor  for  others,  in  the  most  humili 
ating  and  degrading  occupations 

The  moral,  as  well  as  physical  grade  of  these  savages, 
might  be  regarded  as  a  little  in  advance  of  the  Pischaus, 


132  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

though  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  of  a  state  of 
humanity  more  thoroughly  degraded  and  unhumanized. 
They  were  a  little  more  tasty  and  tidy  in  their  appear 
ance  than  the  former,  and  also  appeared  to  be  less  cruel 
to  their  captives.  But  their  filthy  and  revolting  mode 
of  cookery  was  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  Pischaus. 
Roxana's  food,  while  with  these  people,  was  but  little, 
if  any,  preferable  to  what  it  was  while  with  the  Pischaus, 
and  consisted  of  about  the  same  variety. 

Although,  by  the  customs  of  these  barbarians,  she 
was  the  property,  or,  in  other  words,  the  slave  of  him 
who  had  bought  and  sought  to  make  her  his  wife,  yet, 
by  a  part  of  the  same  customs,  upon  the  death  of  the 
warrior,  the  widow  is  perfectly  free — not  inheritable  by 
his  relatives,  or  any  one  else ;  and,  in  this  particular, 
there  is  no  difference  made  between  those  that  are  cap 
tives  and  those  of  their  own  nation. 

A  consideration  is  always  paid  to  the  father  or  near 
relatives  of  the  young  squaw  whose  hand  is  sought  by 
a  warrior  as  a  companion.  Widows,  among  this  tribe 
of  Indians,  are  not  allowed  to  marry  the  second  time, 
from  the  superstitious  idea  that  the  deceased  warriors 
will  have  use  for  them  in  the  next  world  ;  and  that  upon 
their  death,  they  will  take  their  appropriate  places  in 
the  households  of  their  defunct  lords,  at  the  new  hunt 
ing-grounds. 

Roxana  had  been  with  these  savages  now  about  nine 
months,  during  all  of  which  time  her  sufferings,  mentally 
and  physically,  had  been  intense — far  beyond  the  power 
of  any  words  that  I  can  command ;  when,  to  her  aston- 


AMONG   THE    BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  133 

ishment  and  dismay,  another  change  in  her  hard  fortune 
seemed  about  to  take  place. 

This  nation  of  Indians  and  the  Flat-Heads,  as  she 
afterwards  learned,  had  for  some  time  been  on  unfriendly 
terms,  and  had  come  together,  on  several  occasions,  in 
sanguinary  combat,  upon  the  field  of  battle.  Better 
counsels  at  length  having  prevailed,  the  two  nations 
agreed  to  a  peace  ;  and  in  order  to  fortify  each  other's 
words  with  the  necessary  confidence — in  accordance  with 
the  customs  of  most  of  these  hostile  tribes — they  bound 
themselves,  respectively,  to  deliver  to  each  other  a  num 
ber  of  hostages,  to  be  held  by  each  of  the  contending 
parties  during  pleasure,  as  an  additional  guaranty  of 
good  behavior,  respectively. 

In  selecting  these  hostages  by  the  war  chief,  Roxana 
was  taken  as  one  of  them,  and,  with  others,  marched  off 
to  where  the  council  of  the  two  nations  was  in  session, 
and  formally  delivered  over  to  the  chief  of  the  Flat- 
Heads. 

The  journey  to  this  council  (a  distance  of  about  fifty 
miles)  almost  killed  her.  Her  system  was  so  much  ex 
hausted,  in  consequence  of  extreme  weakness,  induced 
by  traveling  the  whole  distance  on  foot,  that  upon  her 
arrival  at  the  council,  she  was  scarcely  able  to  stand 
upon  her  feet ;  and  yet,  on  the  morning  after  her  arrival, 
she  was  again  compelled  to  set  out,  in  company  with  the 
Flat-Heads,  on  a  long  and  wearisome  journey — of  the 
distance  of  which  she  had  no  idea. 

She  had  not  traveled  far  before  her  head  became  dizzy, 
and  blindness  impeded  her  further  progress  ;  and  faint, 


134  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

and  exhausted,  she  sank  to  the  ground,  unconscious  of 
aught  that  was  transpiring. 

When  sufficiently  recovered  to  recognize  what  was 
passing,  the  savages  had  all  collected  around  her,  and 
were  intently  gazing  upon  her,  supposing  that,  of  a  cer 
tainty,  she  was  dead.  By  words  and  signs,  she  suc 
ceeded  in  convincing  them  that  she  was  not  able  to  travel 
on  foot  any  farther,  but  if  they  would  bring  her  a  horse, 
she  would  ride. 

After  counseling  together  for  a  few  minutes,  one  of 
the  savages  furnished  her  with  a  poor,  jaded  looking 
animal,  (there  being  a  number  of  good  horses  in  the 
company,)  and  having  assisted  her  upon  its  back,  then 
took  it  by  the  head  and  led  it.  In  this  way,  she  trav 
eled  the  greater  part  of  the  remaining  distance  to  the 
village  of  the  Flat-Heads.  The  last  twenty  or  thirty 
miles,  however,  she  was  compelled  to  travel  on  foot,  as 
the  chivalrous  savage  who  led  her  horse  compelled  her 
to  dismount,  and  then  rode  the  remainder  of  the  way 
himself. 

In  consequence  of  this  relief  in  making  the  journey, 
she  felt  much  improved  ;  yet,  in  accomplishing  the  last 
part  of  it,  her  condition  was  almost  as  forlorn  as  it  was 
before ;  and  it  required  the  repose  of  several  weeks  to 
restore  her  health  and  strength  to  the  point  they  occu 
pied  before  setting  out  on  this  (to  her)  terrible  journey. 

The  whole  distance  of  this  journey,  she  afterwards 
learned,  was  between  one  and  two  hundred  miles  ;  and 
the  exposure  of  camping  out  of  nights,  and  laying  upon 
the  bare  ground,  with  nothing  in  the  way  of  clothing  to 


AMONG!    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  135 

protect  her  from  the  wet  and  cold,  was  not  the  least  of 
her  sufferings  on  this  occasion. 

The  village  to  which  she  was  taken,  was  only  three 
days'  journey  from  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  was  located  on  an  elevated  spot  of  ground,  near  a 
small  and  beautiful  lake.  The  general  contour  of  the 
country  was  mountainous  and  broken ;  but  the  valleys 
appeared  to  be  fertile,  and  produced  an  abundant  supply 
of  grass,  and  a  great  variety  of  beautiful  wild  flowers. 

On  her  arrival  at  the  Flat-Head  village,  her  color, 
features,  &c.,  furnished  an  immense  quantity  of  food  for 
the  gratification  of  the  curiosity  of  these  degraded  peo 
ple — but  not  much  more,  perhaps,  than  their  flat  heads 
and  otherwise  singular  and  brutal  appearance  did  for  hers. 

These  Indians,  although  possessing  the  general  char 
acteristics  of  most  of  the  other  tribes  of  this  country, 
are,  in  many  respects,  their  superiors.  There  is  a  kind 
of  gentility  and  affability  in  their  manners,  and  a  mild 
ness  of  disposition,  that  is  by  no  means  common  to  many 
of  the  other  tribes. 

On  arriving  at  the  village,  Roxana  was  placed  in  the 
charge  of  an  elderly  squaw,  who  occupied  one  of  the 
huts  alone.  This  person  was  a  widow,  having  lost 
her  husband  many  years  before,  in  one  of  their  wars 
with  the  Black-Feet.  She  never  had  any  children  of 
her  own,  and  since  the  death  of  her  warrior,  lived  a  re 
tired  life  by  herself.  Her  treatment  of  Roxana  was, 
perhaps,  as  kind  as  she  had  any  reason  to  expect  from 
an  individual  as  ignorant  and  degraded  as  she  was. 
She  allowed  her  but  little  idle  time,  however,  for  she 


136  FIVE  YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

always  had  something  for  her  to  do.  Collecting  to 
gether  and  carrying  wood  and  water,  gathering  berries 
and  roots,  and  assisting  her  in  making  moccasins,  con 
stituted  a  part  of  her  routine  of  labor. 

The  manner  of  preparing  and  using  their  food,  was 
very  much  after  the  style  of  the  other  savages  with 
whom  she  had  lived.  They  subsisted  chiefly  on  the 
flesh  of  animals,  fish,  berries,  and  roots. 

Roxana  regarded  the  males  as  excesively  indolent, 
(except  when  engaged  in  the  chase,)  spending  their  time 
laying  and  loitering  about,  as  though  their  lives  were 
almost  a  burthen  to  them — the  females,  as  is  the  case 
generally  with  all  these  tribes,  doing  all  the  work,  and 
attending  to  the  finances.  Although  the  condition  of 
the  females  is  but  little  preferable  to  a  state  of  abject 
slavery,  yet  they  bear  up  under  it  with  a  remarkable  de 
gree  of  patience  and  contentment,  but  seldom  giving 
loose  rein  to  their  feelings. 

A  peculiar  trait  in  the  character  of  the  males  of  these 
savages  is,  that  they  seldom  mistreat  the  females  by 
overt  acts  of  abuse  of  any  kind  whatever.  Should  a 
warrior  so  far  forget  his  duty,  as  well  as  his  dignity,  as 
to  strike  his  squaw,  he  is  forever  disgraced  with  his 
tribe,  and  there  are  none  so  degraded  as  to  make  him 
an  associate ;  and  his  squaw  is  at  once  released  from 
every  obligation  of  the  marriage  contract,  and  is  at 
liberty  to  leave  his  hut  forever. 

Notwithstanding  the  depression  or  flatness  of  the 
heads  of  these  savages,  (caused  by  the  wearing,  during 
infancy,  upon  the  tops  of  their  heads,  flat  boards,  or 


THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  13t 

stones,  with  a  smooth  surface,)  their  intellects,  Koxana 
thought,  were  as  good  as  that  of  any  of  the  savages 
with  whom  she  had  become  acquainted. 

It  was  now  the  fall  of  the  year,  and  the  warriors  were 
preparing  to  go  to  the  prairies,  in  order  to  spend  three 
or  four  weeks  in  hunting  buffalo.  At  these  times  it  is 
customary  with  the  warriors  of  this  nation  to  take  with 
them  their  women  and  children,  for  the  double  purpose 
of  gratifying  them  with  a  kind  of  gala  season,  and  also 
to  attend  to  the  cutting  up  and  drying  the  meat  that 
may  be  brought  in  by  the  hunters.  This  general  hunt, 
which  is  sure  to  take  place  during  every  fall  of  the  year, 
is  regarded  with  delight  by  all  ages  and  both  sexes ; 
and  to  the  females  and  children  is,  no  doubt,  a  season 
of  recreation  and  amusement. 

All  things  being  ready,  they  started — the  most  of  the 
hunters  on  horseback,  and  the  women  and  children  on 
foot.  It  is  no  part  of  the  gallantry  of  these  people  to 
so  far  discommode  themselves  as  to  permit  their  squaws 
and  papooses  to  ride,  and  themselves  to  travel  on  foot. 
This  would  not  be  regarded  as  comporting  with  the  dig 
nity  of  either  their  character  or  employment. 

The  hunters  rode  in  advance,  and  the  women,  children 
and  canines  brought  up  the  rear.  The  distance  from 
the  village  to  the  hunting-ground  was  about  thirty 
miles,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of 
their  journey  they  reached  the  desired  point.  Roxana 
was  very  much  crippled  up  with  the  severity  of  the 
journey,  though  the  squaws  and  children  seemed  to  bear 
it  without  a  murmur ;  and  even  those  females  who  car- 
6* 


138  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

ried  their  young  papooses,  bound  upon  their  backs,  the 
whole  distance,  seemed  to  suffer  but  little  from  fatigue. 

Immediately  upon  arriving  at  the  desired  locality,  all 
hands  were  busy  in  preparing  the  camp  for  future  use 
and  comfort.  It  was  located  on  a  beautifully  rolling 
piece  of  ground,  upon  the  bank  of  a  small  stream  of 
running  water,  protected  by  a  delightful  grove  of  timber 
skirting  the  border  of  the  prairie.  Every  thing  having 
been  arranged  according  to  the  taste  and  skill  of  the 
squaws,  whilst  the  hunters  were  pursuing  their  game  on 
the  prairie,  universal  joy  and  hilarity  seemed  to  take 
possession  of  all  those  left  at  the  camp.  The  squaws 
hummed  over  their  rude  ditties,  while  the  children  rolled, 
tumbled,  and  leaped,  in  a  way  that  would  have  excited 
the  risibility  of  the  most  stubborn  misanthrope. 

They  had  been  in  camp  about  a  week,  and  the  labors 
of  the  hunters  had,  thus  far,  been  crowned  with  unusual 
success.  They  had  killed  and  brought  to  camp  a  num 
ber  of  buffaloes  and  other  game,  and  joy  seemed  to 
pervade  every  countenance.  But  how  transitory  are 
the  hopes  even  of  the  rude  savage,  whose  wants  and  de 
sires  are  certainly  few,  and  easily  satisfied  ! 

About  the  hour  of  two  o'clock  of  this  night,  when 
the  camp-fires  had  all  died  out,  and  sleep,  like  a  sooth 
ing  anodyne,  rested  upon  all,  a  deadly  and  indiscriminate 
slaughter  was  commenced  upon  the  camp.  The  fright 
ful  yells  of  the  enraged  enemy,  amidst  their  fearful  work 
of  blood  and  slaughter,  was  enough  to  strike  terror  to 
the  stoutest  heart,  and  almost  congeal  the  blood,  as  it 
languidly  coursed  its  way  through  the  veins. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  139 

The  destruction  of  life  was  general,  sparing  neither 
age  nor  sex  in  the  impetuosity  and  fury  of  the  charge. 
Whether  any  of  this  party  of  the  Flat-Heads  (with  two 
exceptions)  escaped  this  dreadful  slaughter,  Roxana 
never  learned  ;  but  from  the  scene  of  death  and  carnage 
presented  in  the  camp  on  the  next  morning,  she  was  of 
the  opinion  that,  with  the  exception  of  herself  and  two 
of  the  squaws,  every  soul  had  been  put  to  death. 

In  the  haste  and  confusion  of  thexcharge,  the  savages 
had  involuntarily  passed  by  the  tent  in  which  Roxana 
and  the  two  squaws  were  sleeping — having,  as  they  sup 
posed,  murdered  all.  In  afterwards  passing  about 
amongst  the  dead  and  mangled  bodies,  scalping  and 
stripping  them,  they  came  upon  them  also,  and  were 
much  surprised  (judging  from  their  actions)  that  they 
had  escaped  the  common  destruction. 

Their  thirst  for  blood  having  by  this  time  been  some 
what  appeased,  they  made  use  of  no  demonstrations  of 
violence  towards  them,  further  than  ordering  them  in 
the  charge  of  two  gigantic  savages  of  most  sinister 
aspect. 

During  the  progress  of  this  bloody  scene,  Roxana 
and  her  two  companions  would  have  made  an  effort  at 
escape,  hud  they  seen  any  possibility  of  effecting  it ; 
but  such  appeared  to  be  the  number  of  the  enemy,  from 
the  noise  and  confusion  they  created,  they  supposed  the 
attempt  would  prove  utterly  futile,  and  that  they  might 
as  well  calmly  await  their  fate  where  they  then  were. 

These  strange  savages,  who,  as  yet,  they  knew  nothing 
about,  continued  in  the  camp  till  sometime  after  day- 


140  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

light ;  and  in  passing  about  in  the  care  of  the  two  sava 
ges  who  had  them  in  charge,  Roxana  and  the  two  squaws 
had  a  full  view  of  the  melancholy  picture  before  them, 
frightful  and  ghastly  in  the  extreme.  Men,  women,  and 
children,  horribly  mutilated  and  covered  with  gore,  were 
strewed  over  the  ground,  in  every  form  and  attitude  of 
horror.  Such  was  the  impression  made  upon  Roxana's 
mind  by  this  exhibition  of  cruelty  and  death,  that  it  ever 
remained  fresh  in  her  mind,  and  seemed  to  glow  before 
her  eyes  with  all  the  reality  that  tortured  her  senses  on 
the  morning  that  she  witnessed  it. 

After  having  secured  the  horses  and  everything  else 
that  belonged  either  to  the  camp  or  persons  of  the  Flat- 
Heads,  they  set  off  for  their  own  country. 

Up  to  this  time,  Roxana  had  been  with  the  Flat- 
Heads  seven  months  ;  and  although  her  condition  had 
been  far  from  pleasant  or  agreeable,  upon  the  whole,  she 
had  been  better  used  by  them  than  by  either  of  the 
other  tribes  into  whose  hands  she  had  fallen ;  and  at 
this  time  her  feelings  could  not  be  otherwise  than  most 
gloomy  upon  so  sudden  and  tragic  a  change  in  her  his 
tory.  Not  only  from  the  cruelties  perpetrated  upon  this 
occasion,  but  from  the  physiognomy  and  manners  of  her 
captors,  she  was  led  to  believe  them  a  very  base  and 
treacherous  tribe  of  savages. 

Before  leaving  the  camp,  the  two  Flat- Head  squaws 
were  mounted  upon  horses,  and  each  one  of  them  being 
taken  in  charge  by  a  lusty  savage,  set  out  on  their 
journey  at  a  brisk  pace.  What  subsequently  became  of 
them,  Roxana  never  learned,  as  the  company  of  sav- 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  HI 

ages  here  separated,  forming  two  parties,  the  one  that 
the  two  squaws  were  with  taking  one  direction,  and  the 
one  that  Roxana  was  with  taking  another. 

Roxana  was  also  mounted  upon  a  horse  and  taken 
charge  of  by  a  fiendish-looking  savage,  who,  from  his 
accoutrements,  she  supposed  was  a  chief,  and  whose 
very  appearance  caused  her  to  shudder.  Her  horse  was 
urged  along  by  them  at  a  rate  which  was  exceedingly 
unpleasant  and  fatiguing  to  her. 

While  thus  passing  along,  to  her  horror  and  dismay, 
the  loathsome  savage  in  whose  charge  she  had  been 
placed,  sought,  on  divers  occasions,  to  use  familiar 
liberties  with  her  person,  to  the  great  merriment  and 
satisfaction  of  the  others.  Thus  far,  amidst  all  the 
calamities  that  she  had  passed  through  since  she  had  be 
come  a  captive  to  the  savages,  she  had,  in  this  respect, 
been  shielded  from  insult ;  and  upon  this  occasion,  so 
great  was  her  humiliation  and  depression  of  spirit,  that 
she  humbly  besought  the  Lord  that,  rather  than  she 
should  be  thus  humiliated,  he  would  remove  her  hence 
by  any  means  of  His  providence  that  might  in  His 
sight  seem  good.  But,  for  reasons  which  no  doubt 
were  founded  in  wisdom,  and  in  harmony  with  His 
providence,  He  suffered  her  soul  to  pate  through  this 
terrible  infliction ;  and  during  the  two  months  that  she 
was  with  these  brutal  savages,  she  became  a  prey  (not 
withstanding  her  prayers  and  resistance  to  the  contrary) 
to  the  diabolical  passions  and  caprice  of  the  inhuman 
wretch  who  had  usurped  power  over  her. 

All  her  hopes,  pride,  and  desire  for  life  forsook  her ; 


142  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

and,  had  it  not  been  for  the  conscious  wickedness  of  the 
act,  she  would,  on  divers  occasions,  have  ended  her 
sorrows  by  destroying  herself,  as  the  only  adequate 
remedy  to  soothe  the  bitterness  of  a  state  of  degrada 
tion  which,  to  her,  seemed  insupportable.  Her  mind 
became  a  prey  to  itself;  and,  though  conscious  of  no 
guilt,  either  in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  yet  her  heart 
and  mind  united  in  the  declaration  that  the  beautiful 
goddess  of  innocency  and  purity  of  thought  had  taken 
her  flight,  and  left  her  a  prey  to  the  unrelenting  buffet- 
ings  of  a  most  cruel  fortune.  Why  should  she  now  de 
sire  to  return  to  her  home  in  England  in  order  once 
more  to  embrace  her  dear  mother  and  sisters  ?  Would 
not  the  ever-conscious  sense  of  her  own  shame  and 
degradation  the  more  keenly  torment  her  ?  Or,  in  her 
own  language,  "  Oh,  Death,  propitiously  smile  upon  my 
lost  and  forlorn  condition,  and  speedily  sever  the  cord 
that  binds  me  to  an  existence  that  has  lost  all  that  is 
pleasant,  agreeable  or  desirable,  and  let  the  record  of 
my  life  remain  a  blank  during  all  time  to  come." 

Hitherto,  during  her  captivity  among  the  savages, 
her  heart  had  been  constantly  buoyed  up  in  the  midst 
of  all  her  afflictions,  with  a  consciousness  that  there  was 
another  besides  the  loving  hearts  of  her  mother,  sisters, 
and  numerous  kind  friends,  that  would  sacrifice  all  its 
hopes  and  prospects  in  this  world  for  her  recovery  and 
preservation,  had  it  only  a  hint  that  she  was  yet  alive 
among  the  savages  of  Oregon. 

Charles  G-oodhue,  the  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant  of 
London,  had,  for  some  time  previous  to  Roxana's  leav- 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  143 

ing  London,  been  paying  his  addresses  to  her,  and  their 
marriage  was  to  have  taken  place  on  her  return  home. 
Roxana  informed  me  that  he  was  a  young  man  of  a 
noble,  honorable  mind,  upon  whom  her  young  and  ar 
dent  affections  were  centred,  and  with  whom  all  that  she 
desired  or  expected  to  enjoy  in  this  world  was  invested. 
Using  her  own  language:  "Well  do  I  remember  his 
last  words  to  me,  and  the  ardent  pressure  of  my  hand, 
as  he  bid  me  farewell  on  board  the  ship,  a  few  minutes 
before  we  sailed  for  Oregon." 

Thus  far  she  had  lived  in  hopes  that,  by  some  means 
unknown  to  herself,  Providence  would  effect  her  release 
from  the  savages,  and  enable  her  again  to  return  to  her 
friends  in  England.  But  now,  not  only  were  her  hopes 
blasted  forever,  but  even  the  desire  for  such  an  event 
perished  in  her  bosom.  Could  the  change  have  taken 
place  by  a  single  volition  of  the  will,  she  informed  me 
that  she  would  be  loth  to  make  it.  "  For,"  said  she, 
"  what  would  be  my  condition  on  returning  home  ? 
Could  I  look  Charles  in  the  face  without  a  blush,  or  a 
feeling  of  conscious  shame  ?  Never,  never  !  Rather 
than  bear  the  weight  of  a  sense  of  this  crushing  de 
basement,  I  would  rather,  a  thousand  times,  perish  in 
the  wilderness,  and  be  forgotten  forever." 

Upon  arriving  at  the  village  of  their  savage  captors, 
she  was  taken  to  the  hut  of  him  who  had  her  in  charge, 
and  forced,  at  the  risk  of  her  life,  there  to  remain,  under 
the  strictest  surveillance  of  two  of  his  squaws,  whose 
disposition, would  have  cast  dishonor  upon  that  of  the 
enraged  tiger  of  the  jungle. 


144  FIVE   YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

She  endured,  at  the  hands  of  these  savages,  every 
species  of  cruelty  and  degradation  that  they  could 
heap  upon  her,  and  to  a  heart  that  was  already  well 
nigh  broken,  their  cruelties  added  despair ;  and  so  fran 
tic  did  she  become  with  the  accumulation  of  misery, 
that,  had  not  Providence,  at  this  time,  seen  proper  to 
change  her  condition,  death  must,  in  a  very  short  time, 
have  closed  her  mortal  career. 

At  this  time,  after  she  had  been  with  the  Crow  In 
dians  about  two  months,  the  village  was  unexpectedly 
attacked  by  a  party  of  Black-Feet,  (their  old  enemies,) 
and  the  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants  put  to  death — 
either  on  the  spot,  or  afterwards  as  prisoners  of  war. 
The  chief  and  the  two  squaws,  who  were  her  principal 
tormentors*  were  killed  and  scalped  by  the  Black-Feet, 
and  Roxana  was  only  saved  by  elevating  her  hands  in 
an  attitude  of  supplication,  and  giving  them  to  under 
stand,  by  signs,  that  she  had  been  a  prisoner  to  the 
Crows.  In  company  with  ten  other  prisoners,  taken  at 
the  same  time,  she  was  marched  off  to  the  country  of 
the  Black-Feet. 

Of  all  the  tribes  with  whom  she  had  yet  become  ac 
quainted,  she  found  the  Crows  the  most  cruel  and  de 
graded — being,  in  point  of  intelligence,  or  in  any  other 
respect,  but  little  above  the  grade  of  the  brute  creation. 
Numbers  of  them,  of  both  sexes,  wear  nothing  whatever 
in  the  way  of  clothing,  during  the  warm  weather ;  and 
the  only  thing  in  the  shape  of  a  garment  worn  by  any 
of  them,  during  the  summer  months,  is  a  cloth  made  of 
skins,  and  tightly  drawn  around  the  loins.  Their  food 


•  . 
AMONG  THE  BLACK- FEET  INDIANS.       145 

is  in  character  with  every  thing  else — filthy  and  disgust 
ing  in  the  extreme. 

Unfortunately,  it  so  happened,  that  shortly  after  the 
Flat-Heads  had  arrived  at  the  prairies,  for  the  purpose 
of  hunting,  this  party  of  Crow  Indians  (having  crossed 
the  mountains)  approached  the  same  prairies,  for  the 
same  purpose.  Discovering  that  they  had  been  pre 
ceded  by  the  Flat-Heads,  with  whom  they  were  on  ill 
terms,  unperceived  and  unexpected  by  the  latter,  they 
kept  themselves  secreted  until  a  late  hour  in  the  night, 
and  then,  taking  advantage  of  the  darkness,  and  the 
soundness  of  their  slumbers,  like  enraged  tigers,  fell 
upon  and  destroyed  them. 

I  have  now  given  the  reader,  in  substance,  a  few  of 
the  principal  facts,  as  related  to  me  by  Roxana,  touch 
ing  her  visit  to  Oregon,  her  subsequent  capture,  and 
treatment  by  the  Indians.  In  the  relation  of  these 
tragic  scenes,  in  a  few  instances,  I  have  given  them  in 
her  own  words ;  and  although  the  account  is  far  from 
being  as  full  as  that  given  by  her  to  me  at  different 
times,  yet  it  contains  the  most  prominent  facts  in  her 
thrilling  narrative — which,  upon  my  mind,  made  a  deep 
and  lasting  impression. 

Having  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  party  of  Black- 
Feet,  as  related  by  her,  the  reader  is  already  familiar 
with  the  proceedings  of  the  council  that  was  called  to 
gether  to  try  the  prisoners,  and  its  final  results. 
f 


146  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

IT  was  now  the  first  of  July,  1803,  and  notwithstand 
ing  the  care  and  attention  that  both  myself  and  Ke-Ka 
had  bestowed  upon  Roxana,  her  health  seemed  to  be 
exceedingly  delicate,  and  if  there  was  any  change  for 
the  better,  it  was  slight  indeed.  She  was  evidently 
laboring  under  great  physical  exhaustion  and  depression 
of  spirits,  which,  in  the  absence  of  some  adequate  rem 
edy,  must,  sooner  or  later,  prove  fatal  to  her. 

When  at  home,  I  always  made  it  a  point  to  put  on  a 
cheerful  countenance,  and,  through  the  medium  of  con 
versation,  act  upon  her  spirits,  and  thus  arouse  her 
from  that  unfortunate  state  of  mind  into  which  she  had 
fallen.  Sometimes  this  plan  seemed  to  succeed  well, 
and,  for  a  time,  she  would  appear  quite  cheerful ;  but, 
ere  long,  would  again  relapse  into  her  former  melan 
choly  habit. 

I  still  had  great  hopes,  however,  of  her  recovery,  and 
that  she  would  again  be  enabled  to  return  to  her  family 
and  friends  in  England;  but  these  considerations  (which 
to  me  were  worthy  of  almost  every  sacrifice)  seemed  to 
give  her  no  pleasure. 

Ke-Ka  had  become  very  much  attached  to  her,  and 
was  willing  to  do  any  thing  in  the  world  for  her,  that 
she  could  do ;  and,  in  consequence  of  her  unremitting 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS,  147 

attentions  and  uniform  kindness,  Roxana  was  very  af 
fectionately  disposed  toward  her.  By  way  of  rallying 
her,  I  used  frequently  to  tell  her  that  her  health  would 
soon  be  sufficiently  restored  for  me  to  start  with  her  to 
Vancouver,  that  she  might  again  return  to  England. 
Upon  these  occasions  she  would  say  to  me,  that  so  far 
as  the  same  would  be  a  gratification  to  me,  she  de 
sired  it  would  be  so  ;  but  as  for  herself,  she  was  of  opin 
ion  that  the  future  had  in  reserve  for  her  a  very  different 
banquet. 

It  was  a  source  of  sorrow  to  me  that  I  could  not 
spend  more  of  my  time  at  home  than  thus  far  I  had 
been  able  to  do  ;  but,  under  the  circumstances,  it  was  im 
possible,  as  our  supplies  had  to  be  kept  up  mainly 
through  our  success  in  the  chase,  which,  of  itself  con 
sumed  a  considerable  portion  of  our  time  ;  and  in  ad 
dition  to  this,  I  had  to  hold  myself  in  readiness  for  any 
emergency  that  might  transpire  in  the  nation,  whether 
it  was  in  the  form  of  an  expedition  in  order  to  chastise 
some  of  the  neighboring  nations,  or  to  engage  in  the 
destruction  of  bears,  or  some  other  species  of  animal, 
that  had  proved  more  than  a  match  for  the  savages. 

My  name,  fame,  and  exploits  had  by  this  time  be 
come  familiar  throughout  the  nation,  and  hundreds  of 
those  ignorant  people,  from  remote  parts  of  the  country, 
had  visited  our  village  on  purpose  to  see  Wapsa-Kiwan, 
"the  bear-slayer." 

Upon  these  occasions,  they  would  manifest  the  great 
est  regard  and  admiration  for  me,  of  which  it  was  pos 
sible  for  them  to  evince,  and  almost  uniformly  bestow 


148  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

upon  me  some  presents,  in  the  form  of  skins,  moccasins, 
or  venison. 

Such  had  become  my  popularity  with  them,  that  upon 
appearing  amongst  them  at  any  of  their  villages,  I  was 
treated  with  the  most  distinguished  respect,  and  at  once 
formed  the  central  object  of  all  eyes  and  attention. 
This  (to  me)  favorable  state  of  things  had  mainly  been 
brought  about  by  the  zeal  and  readiness  with  which, 
upon  all  occasions,  I  entered  into  their  plans  and  enter 
prises — thereby  convincing  them  that  I  was  indeed  their 
friend.  In  this  way  having  obtained  their  friendship 
and  confidence,  their  admiration  of  me  seemed  to  know 
no  bounds. 

As  the  great  object  of  my  solicitude  was  now  Rox- 
ana,  and  as  it  was  uncertain  how  long  we  would  be 
compelled  to  remain  amongst  them,  I  regarded  it  as  a 
matter  of  the  utmost  moment  to  us  both  to  still  cultivate 
their  friendship  and  cherish  their  confidence. 

At  this  time,  word  was  brought  to  the  village  that, 
while  a  party  of  our  nation  was  hunting  buffalo  on  the 
prairies,  they  had  been  attacked,  and  several  of  their 
number  killed,  by  a  numerous  party  of  the  Snake  tribe ; 
and,  also,  that  several  of  them  had  been  taken  prisoners 
by  the  enemy  ;  and  requesting  immediate  help,  not  only 
in  order  to  rescue  the  prisoners,  but  to  punish,  in  an  ex 
emplary  manner,  this  outrage  upon  the  rights  and  dig 
nity  of  a  neighboring  nation. 

The  place  of  rendezvous  was  to  be  about  thirty  miles 
from  our  village,  and  was  to  take  place  on  the  evening 
of  the  next  day.  Upon  receiving  this  important  infor- 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  149 

mation,  Hohoako-Kiwa,  the  chief,  convened  the  warriors 
of  the  village,  and,  in  form  of  a  brief  speech,  informed 
them  of  these  facts,  and  that  early  in  the  morning  he 
would  expect  them  to  be  ready  to  start  for  the  point  de 
signated. 

Of  course,  in  an  enterprise  so  important  as  this,  I  was 
expected  to  constitute  one  of  its  number,  and  with  my 
rifle  carry  terror  and  consternation  (if  nothing  else)  into 
the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  Hohoako-Kiwa  had  some 
time  before  procured  for  me  (to  be  worn  on  these  occa 
sions)  a  military  hat,  in  form  of  a  gigantic  arch  of  fea 
thers,  in  size,  form,  and  splendor  not  much  inferior  to 
his  own.  In  the  morning,  after  the  process  of  painting 
had  been  gone  through  with,  and  we  were  ready  to 
mount  our  horses  and  be  off  for  the  rendezvous,  the 
chief  brought  it  to  me  and  requested  me  to  put  it  on ; 
which,  in  order  to  gratify  him,  I  did.  This  occasioned 
considerable  amusement  to  the  party,  and  they  con 
gratulated  me  (in  their  uncouth  way)  upon  my  fine  ap 
pearance,  in  full  costume  of  a  Black-Foot  warrior. 

At  a  signal  from  the  chief,  every  man  mounted  his 
horse,  and,  amidst  an  uproar  of  wild  shrieks,  indicative 
of  war,  started  off  at  full  speed.  At  about  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  the  place  of  rendezvous, 
and  found  a  considerable  number  of  warriors  already 
collected  in  advance  of  us ;  and  during  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  afternoon  and  evening,  they  continued  to 
pour  in,  until  the  number  collected  together  was  a  little 
over  five  hundred. 

The  fore  part  of  the  night  was  occupied  by  a  grand 


5    0  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

council  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors,  and  a  plan  of  the 
campaign  was  agreed  upon,  which  was  essentially  as 
follows : 

The  party  was  to  move,  with  all  possible  haste,  early 
in  the  morning,  to  the  margin  of  the  prairie,  where  the 
attack  of  the  Snakes  had  been  made,  and  then,  for  the 
time  being,  remain  in  camp.  Six  of  their  most  expe 
rienced  spies  were  to  be  then  sent  out,  in  search  of  the 
trail  of  the  retreating  Snakes.  In  case  they  came  upon 
the  trail,  one  of  their  number  was  to  be  sent  back  to 
the  camp,  to  notify  the  party  of  the  fact ;  when,  under 
conduct  of  this  spy,  it  was  immediately  to  set  out,  and, 
at  a  convenient  distance,  move  forward  in  the  wake  of 
the  spies.  The  better  to  enable  the  party  to  move  for 
ward  in  the  line  of  the  spies,  they  were  occasionally  to 
drop  in  their  path,  as  they  passed  along,  bits  of  green 
leaves.  Should  the  spies  come  in  view  of  the  enemy, 
they  were  immediately  to  send  back  another  one  of 
their  number,  in  order  to  notify  the  advancing  party  of 
the  fact,  and  the  other  spies  were  still  to  keep  up  their 
observations,  until  the  enemy  either  called  a  halt  or 
camped  for  the  night ;  in  which  case  further  notice  was 
to  be  given  to  the  party,  in  order  to  enable  it  to  pre 
pare  for  the  attack. 

In  pursuance  to  this  plan,  the  party  moved  forward 
in  the  morning,  and  about  one  o'clock  camped  on  the 
margin  of  the  prairie,  as  agreed  upon.  The  spies  were 
then  sent  out,  and  about  three  o'clock  one  of  them  re 
turned  with  the  information  that  the  trail  had  been 
found ;  when,  in  perfect  silence,  the  party  commenced 
moving  forward. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  151 

As  the  Snakes  had  more  than  two  days  the  start  of 
us,  I  had  but  little  idea  of  overtaking  them,  knowing 
with  what  rapidity  those  savages  generally  move  off, 
after  committing  depredations  of  this  kind,  in  order  to 
avoid  expected  vengeance 

It  being  late  in  the  afternoon  when  we  set  out  in 
pursuit,  of  course  we  made  but  little  advance  this  day. 
We  pitched  our  camp  about  dusk,  in  the  midst  of  a 
clump  of  trees,  and  after  partaking  of  a  little  dried 
meat,  dropped  down  upon  the  ground  for  a  night's  rest. 
At  the  dawn  of  day  we  were  again  in  motion,  and 
found  no  difficulty  in  following  the  trail  of  the  spies,  and 
regulating  our  motion  to  suit  theirs,  although  never  in 
sight  of  them  ;  for,  from  the  appearance  of  the  bits  of 
green  leaves  which  the  spies  occasionally  pulled  off  and 
dropped  on  the  ground,  the  Indians  could  tell  to  within 
a  few  minutes  the  number  of  hours  the  spies  were  in 
advance  of  us  ;  and  as  they  wished  to  keep  the  distance 
of  about  two  hours  (of  their  time)  between  them,  they 
were  by  this  means  enabled  to  adjust  the  motion  of  the 
party  accordingly. 

During  this  day  we  marched  about  forty  miles,  and 
camped  for  the  night  on  the  bank  of  a  small,  muddy 
stream  of  water,  where  we  found  plenty  of  grass  for  our 
horses.  As  yet,  we  had  received  no  tidings  from  the 
spies. 

On  this,  the  third  day  of  our  pursuit,  we  were  again 
early  in  motion,  and  advanced  at  about  the  same  rate 
of  speed  that  we  did  on  the  day  previous  ;  and,  without 
any  word  from  the  spies,  camped  for  the  night,  weary 
and  tired — at  least  so  far  as  I  was  concerned. 


152  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

By  this  time,  I  began  to  feel  somewhat  discouraged 
with  the  prospects  of  our  undertaking,  but  Hohoako- 
Kiwa  was  sanguine  that  on  the  next  (the  fourth  day  of 
the  pursuit)  we  would  obtain  some  favorable  tidings 
from  the  spies,  as,  he  said,  he  had  not  expected  from 
the  beginning  to  hear  from  them  sooner. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day,  about  the  usual 
time,  we  again  set  out,  and,  about  2  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  were  hailed  by  one  of  the  spies,  who  informed  us 
that  they  had  obtained  sight  of  the  party  of  Snakes  ; 
that  they  were  very  numerous,  and  were  still  moving 
forward  ;  and  that  the  other  spies  would  keep  them  in 
view  till  they  camped  for  the  night,  when  other  runners 
would  be  sent  in,  to  notify  us  of  the  fact,  in  due  time. 

It  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  me,  that,  although  we 
had  thus  far  been  traveling  on  the  trail  of  the  Snakes, 
we  had,  as  yet,  come  upon  none  of  their  places  of  en 
campment  for  the  nights  that  they  had  necessarily  spent 
on  the  way.  Upon  mentioning  this  to  Hohoako-Ki  wa,  he 
informed  me  that  this  was  by  no  means  strange,  as,  in 
making  a  retreat  of  this  kind,  in  order  to  avoid  an  at 
tack  after  night,  these  people  neither  reposed  in  camp 
nor  kindled  fires,  and  that,  unless  from  the  litter  of  their 
horses,  no  indication  of  an  encampment  was  apt  to  be 
left  behind  them ;  that,  from  appearances,  this  party 
had  been  unusually  careful  to  obliterate  every  thing  in 
their  progress  that  was  calculated  to  direct  the  attention 
of  an  enemy  in  their  pursuit. 

Continuing  our  progress  till  evening,  and  having 
heard  nothing  farther  from  the  spies,  we  again  pitched 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  153 

our  camp  ;  but  had  scarcely  got  things  to  rights  before 
our  attention  was  called  by  the  return  of  the  spies. 
They  reported  the  Snakes  about  ten  miles  in  advance  of 
us,  encamped  on  the  summit  of  a  small  hillock,  envel 
oped  in  a  growth  of  young  timber 

They  had,  by  this  time,  reached  the  territory  of  their 
own  country,  and,  finding  themselves  so  far  from  the 
scene  of  their  mischief,  felt  safe,  no  doubt,  from  the  in 
roads  of  the  Black-Feet.  But,  on  this,  as  well  as  on 
preceding  occasions,  they  greatly  mistook  the  character 
of  the  enemy  with  whom  they  had  to  deal.  Having 
obtained  from  the  spies  the  locality  of  the  ground  upon 
which  the  enemy  was  encamped,  and  such  other  infor 
mation  as  was  deemed  important,  it  was  then  determined 
by  the  chiefs,  in  council,  to  divide  their  force  into  four 
commands,  and,  at  about  the  hour  of  midnight,  move 
upon  the  enemy,  and  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  and 
while  they  were  unsuspectingly  reposing  in  sleep,  avenge 
themselves  at  the  least  possible  risk. 

But  it  is  said  that  almost  every  question  presents  at 
least  two  sides  for  disputation,  and  so  we  found  it  on 
this  occasion ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  secrecy  and 
caution  with  which  we  moved  forward  and  approached 
the  enemy's  quarters,  we  were  detected  by  an  outside 
sentinel,  while  yet  a  considerable  distance  from  their 
camp,  and  the  alarm  given.  In  obedience  to  the  orders 
given,  (upon  a  contingency  of  this  kind,)  our  whole  force, 
in  the  form  of  a  circle,  immediately  rushed  forward  with 
great  impetuosity  for  the  centre  of  the  enemy's  camp, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  preventing  them  from  making 


154  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

their  escape,  and  at  the  same  time  striking  an  effective 
blow  before  they  had  time  to  recover  from  the  effects  of 
the  surprise  into  which  they  had  evidently  been  thrown. 

What  a  few  moments  before  had  seemed  the  trifling 
work  of  but  a  moment,  had  now  enlarged  itself  into 
fearful  proportions  to  be  contended  for.  We  had  no 
time  now,  however,  to  count  upon  probabilities,  even  if 
we  had  had  the  'disposition. 

The  enemy,  seeing  themselves  surrounded  by  a  supe 
rior  force  to  their  own,  were  determined  to  sell  their 
lives  as  dearly  as  possible,  and  accordingly  commenced 
a  raking  fire  upon  us  with  their  arrows,  while  we  were 
yet  in  the  act  of  advancing  upon  them  ;  which  was  re 
turned  in  good  earnest  by  a  similar  charge  from  our 
side ;  and  in  a  moment  thereafter  the  contending  ele 
ments  were  in  close  combat,  using  their  spears  and 
tomahawks  in  a  way  that  was  not  calculated  to  impress 
the  disinterested  beholder  that  there  was  much  of  the 
milk  of  human  kindness  in  the  nature  of  these  savage 
tribes. 

At  the  request  of  Hohoako-Kiwa,  I  took  my  posi 
tion  by  his  side.  And,  for  him,  it  was  well  that  I  did 
so  ;  for  otherwise  he  would  never  have  left  the  field  of 
combat  alive.  He  had  already  received  several  slight 
wounds  from  the  enemy's  spears,  when  a  gigantic  sav 
age  of  the  Snakes  struck  him  from  behind  with  a  pon 
derous  war-club,  which  brought  him  to  the  ground,  and 
while  in  the  act  of  repeating  the  blow,  I  shot  him  dead 
on  the  spot.  During  the  remainder  of  the  contest,  my 
knife  did  good  service,  and  was  the  means  on  several 
occasions  of  saving  my  life. 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET    INDIANS.  155 

The  battle  lasted  about  twenty-five  minutes,  during 
which  time  we  lost,  in  killed,  twenty  warriors,  and  in 
wounded,  over  one  hundred.  Of  the  enemy,  there  were 
killed  fifty-seven,  and  we  took  twenty-six  of  them 
prisoners  of  war.  During  the  progress  of  the  battle,  a 
number  of  the  enemy  broke  through  our  lines  and  made 
their  escape,  but  as  to  what  proportion  of  them,  we 
could  not  ascertain. 

While  the  contest  was  progressing,  I  received  a 
slight  wound,  in  my  left  arm,  from  one  of  the  enemy's 
spears,  which,  though  somewhat  painful,  was  of  but 
little  inconvenience  to  me. 

When  Hohoako-Kiwa  had  sufficiently  recovered  from 
the  stunning  effects  of  the  blow  he  had  received,  he  ex 
pressed  many  thanks  to  me  for  the  service  I  had  ren 
dered  him  at  so  critical  a  juncture  in  his  fortune. 

We  remained  in  possession  of  the  camp  all  night,  and 
in  the  morning  were  surprised  to  find  the  prisoners  that 
the. enemy  had  taken  from  our  nation  no  where  amongst 
us.  Upon  farther  examination  among  the  dead,  we 
found  their  bodies,  shockingly  mangled — almost  hewed 
to  pieces  with  the  tomahawks  of  the  enemy.  Finding 
themselves  attacked  with  but  little  prospect  of  making 
good  their  escape,  they  had  put  the  prisoners  to  death, 
in  order  to  prevent  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of 
their  friends. 

The  scene  presented  on  the  field  of  battle,  when  day 
light  again  opened  upon  us,  was,  to  me,  most  shocking. 
Scores  of  savages,  in  their  gore,  lay  stretched  upon  the 
ground,  in  every  direction  ;  while  many  of  the  wounded 


156  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

and  disabled,  with  gaping  gashes,  were  writhing  under 
the  pain  they  were  enduring. 

A  portion  of  the  day  was  spent  in  scalping  and  strip 
ping  the  dead  of  the  enemy,  and  in  suitably  burying  our 
own  dead.  This  last  rite  was  performed  by  digging, 
with  their  tomahawks,  a  hole  in  the  ground,  of  consid 
erable  extent  in  circumference,  and  then  laying,  in  tiers, 
the  bodies,  together  with  their  bows  and  arrows,  spears, 
tomahawks,  &c.;  then  covering  them  up  with  dirt, 
stones,  and  branches. 

During  the  interment,  one  of  the  chiefs  officiated  in  a 
kind  of  funeral  service,  expatiating  on  the  valor  and 
virtues  of  the  dead,  and  propitiating  the  Great  Spirit 
of  their  nation,  to  supply  them  with  plenty  of  game 
when  they  arrived  at  the  great  hunting-ground  for  which 
they  had  taken  their  departure.  Although  to  an  en 
lightened  mind  this  ceremony  would  appear  the  extreme 
of  nonsense,  yet  the  solemnity  with  which  it  was  char 
acterized  invested  it  with  much  impressiveness. 

The  afternoon  was  now  far  advanced,  and,  lest  we 
might  be  attacked  by  a  reinforcement  from  the  enemy, 
it  was  thought  best  not  to  remain  in  our  present  posi 
tion  over  another  night.  The  horses  (as  well  those  of 
the  enemy  as  our  own)  were  brought  up,  and  having 
secured  the  plunder,  and  mounted  the  wounded,  we  set 
out  on  our  journey  home.  The  prisoners,  in  charge  of 
a  competent  guard,  were  marched  in  advance  of  the 
party,  with  their  arms  pinioned  behind  their  backs. 
In  this  way  we  proceeded  until  about  10  o'clock  at 
night,  when  we  struck  our  camp ;  and,  having  posted  a 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  151 

sufficient  guard  to  detect  the  approach  of  an  enemy, 
coiled  ourselves  down,  and  were  soon  asleep. 

Perhaps,  by  this  time,  the  reader  is  ready  to  condemn 
the  motives  by  which  I  was  actuated  in  taking  part  in 
this  sanguinary  affair  of  savage  life.  If  so,  I  frankly 
confess  that  I  can't  help  it.  My  mission  among  the 
savages  was  neither  in  the  capacity  of  a  missionary  nor 
reformer.  In  the  same  way  that  politicians  and  theolo 
gians  sometimes  do,  I  made  the  doctrine  of  expediency 
the  scape-goat  of  what  otherwise  and  under  different 
circumstances  would  have  appeared  inconsistent  with 
high-toned,  manly  principle.  I  had  laid  down  the 
axiom  that,  in  my  present  circumstances,  it  was  a  duty 
that  I  owed  Roxana  and  myself,  at  all  hazards,  to 
conciliate  the  favor  of  the  savages  with  whom  our  lot 
was  cast.  The  part  I  took  in  this  transaction  was  as 
moderate  as  consistency  with  my  former  professed  in 
terest  with  their  welfare,  and  maintenance  of  their  con 
fidence,  would  admit. 

So  far  as  the  two  contending  nations  of  savages  were 
concerned,  I  regarded  them  as  alike  base,  barbarous, 
and  inhuman  ;  and,  unconnected  with  Roxana's  and  my 
own  welfare,  cared  but  little  as  to  the  result  of  this  or 
any  other  foray,  which  the  Black-Feet  might  have  with 
neighboring  tribes.  It  is  true  that  my  heart  was 
touched  with  pity  toward  the  poor,  ignorant  prisoners, 
taken  upon  this,  as  well  as  upon  other  occasions  ;  and 
could  I,  in  any  sense,  have  ameliorated  their  condition, 
I  should  gladly  have  done  so  ;  but,  at  all  events,  they 
were  only  suffering  the  penalties  of  the  barbarous  cus- 


158  FIVE    YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

toms  which  themselves  contributed  to  establish  and 
maintain,  and  the  effects  of  which  they  delighted  to  see 
carried  out  upon  others ;  and,  upon  this  occasion,  these 
prisoners  had  simply  taken  the  place  of  those  of  the 
Black-Feet  whom  they  had  in  charge  the  day  before. 

It  may  be  said  that,  in  consequence  of  the  ignorance 
and  degradation  of  these  people,  they  should  not,  in 
any  sense,  be  held  responsible  for  their  conduct.  Like 
some  other  doctrines  taught  in  the  world,  this  may  do 
as  a  fine-spun  theory ;  but  when  viewed  in  the  light  of 
a  practicable  fact,  is  found  void  of  truth.  The  greater 
proportion  of  ignorance,  superstition,  and  barbarity  in 
the  world — even  with  the  most  degraded  heathen  na 
tions — is  voluntary  and  self-inflicted  ;  and,  so  far  at 
least  as  this  life  is  concerned,  they  are  held  to  a  strict 
accountability  for  their  conduct,  to  that  law  of  retri 
bution  which  saith,  "  He  that  taketh  the  sword,  shall 
perish  by  the  sword,"  and,  "  With  what  measure  ye 
mete  out  to  others,  the  same  shall  be  meted  to  you 
again. "  In  this,  respect  there  is  no  difference  between 
the  most  enlightened  and  degraded  people  :  conduct 
alone  determines  the  question,  regardless  of  means  of 
knowledge.  As  demonstrative  of  this  fact,  how  terri 
bly  is  the  truth  vindicated  in  the  case  of  these  ignorant 
savages  1 

It  is  possible  that,  after  what  I  have  endured  at  the 
hands  of  these  people,  in  connection  with  what  I  have 
seen,  I  am  not  an  impartial  judge ;  but,  still,  I  am 
firmly  of  the  opinion  that,  with  all  their  ignorance  and 
degradation,  their  knowledge  is  much  better  than  their 
practice. 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET    INDIANS.  159 

The  next  morning,  by  the  time  the  sun  was  tinging 
the  eastern  horizon  with  his  ruddy  mantle,  we  were  on 
our  journey,  and  without  encountering  any  casualty 
worthy  of  note,  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day  of  our 
homeward  march,  landed  at  the  village ;  and  I  was 
gratified  to  find  Roxana  no  worse. 

As  usual  upon  those  occasions,  she  seemed  very  glad 
of  my  safe  return,  and  informed  me  that  during  my  ab 
sence  she  had  been  very  uneasy  for  my  safety — knowing 
the  dangers  that  uniformly  follow  these  hostile  adven 
tures. 

Her  sympathies  were  very  much  moved  in  behalf  of 
the  prisoners  that  we  had  brought  with  us,  and  she  re 
quested  me  to  interfere  in  their  behalf,  and,  if  possible, 
procure  their  release.  I  informed  her  that  this  was  im 
possible,  as  the  mere  suggestion  of  such  an  idea  to  the 
council  would  cause  them  to  look  upon  me  with  suspi 
cion  ;  as  these  prisoners  were  regarded  as  their  deadly 
enemies,  and  had  been  taken  in  battle  ;  and  as  that,  ac 
cording  to  the  code  of  laws  of  these  people,  any  sen 
tence  (in  cases  of  this  kind)  less^than  that  of  ignomini 
ous  death,  would  not  only  bring  upon  them  the  wrath 
of  their  ancestors,  but  the  displeasure  of  the  Great 
Spirit  of  their  nation. 

The  next  step  in  the  programme  of  this  expedition 
was  the  council,  which,  in  the  course  of  a  week,  was 
called  to  pass  upon  the  deserts  of  the  prisoners.  It 
assembled  near  the  village  to  which  the  party  belonged 
who  had  been  attacked  by  the  enemy  on  the  prairies, 
and  to  which  place,  also,  the  prisoners  had  been  con 
ducted.  This  village  was  fifty  miles  from  our  own/ 


160  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

When  the  day  for  setting  out  for  the  council  arrived, 
I  urged  indisposition  as  an  excuse  for  remaining  at 
home  ;  and  although  Hohoako-Kivva  and  a  number  of 
others  were  very  anxious  that  I  should  attend,  and  par 
ticipate  in  the  enjoyments  of  the  occasion,  yet,  in  defer 
ence  to  me,  on  account  of  my  distemper,  with  which 
they  supposed  I  was  possessed,  they  suffered  me  to  re 
main  behind. 

They  were  absent  on  this  mission  over  a  week ;  and 
when  they  returned  home,  they  seemed  much  rejoiced  to 
find  that  my  distemper  had  in  a  great  measure  left  me. 
Hohoako-Kiwa  gave  me  a  thrilling  account  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  council,  and  the  horrid  scenes  of  bar 
barity  that  ensued.  Five  days  were  occupied  in  put 
ting  to  death  the  prisoners,  by  burning  them  at  the 
stake,  after  first  scalping  and  otherwise  tormenting 
them. 

Upon  hearing  this  recital  of  cruelty,  I  was  thankful 
that  my  feelings  had  been  spared  the  contemplation  of 
scenes  so  shocking  and  brutal. 

For  some  time  after  these  events,  our  attention  was 
not  engrossed  by  any  adventure  of  moment,  except  the 
ordinary  routine  of  hunting  and  fishing,  by  means  of 
which  our  supplies  were  kept  up  from  time  to  time. 

These  people  appear  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  vege 
table  productions,  as  nothing  of  the  kind  is  cultivated 
by  them.  The  squaws  sometimes  gather  berries,  and  a 
species  of  esculent  root,  of  spontaneous  production, 
which  they  stew  together  in  connection  with  dried  buf 
falo  beef,  and  is  regarded  by  them  as  being  very  good, 
and  something  of  a  rarity. 


AMONG  THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  161 

As  occasion  served,  I  gathered  such  wild  fruits  for 
Roxana  as  I  thought  would  be  agreeable  to  her  taste, 
some  of  which  she  relished  very  much. 

The  third  winter  since  my  captivity  had  now  set  in, 
and  unlike  the  one  preceding  it,  bid  fair  to  be  a  very 
severe  one.  The  snow  had  already  fallen  to  a  consid 
erable  depth,  and  it  was  intensely  cold.  I  had  laid  in 
during  the  fall  a  plentiful  supply  of  meat  for  the  winter, 
but  many  of  the  Indians  of  the  village,  with  that  im 
providence  which  seems  to  be  a  part  of  their  very  ex 
istence,  were  upon  the  point  of  absolute  want,  and,  as 
was  their  custom  in  exigencies  of  this  kind,  looked  to 
me  for  their  daily  supplies,  and  it  would  have  been  fu 
tile  on  my  part  to  have  attempted  to  turn  them  away 
empty. 

Ever  since  my  arrival  among  them,  I  had  been  trying 
to  impress  upon  their  minds  the  importance  of  laying  in 
during  the  fall  of  the  year  a  sufficient  supply  to  carry 
them  through  that  portion  of  the  winter,,  at  least,  that 
would  not  admit  of  hunting.  But  upon  no  account 
could  I  induce  them  to  change  their  habits  in  this  re 
spect.  It  is  true  that  some  of  these  savages  are  more 
provident  than  others  ;  but  it  is  nevertheless  a  trait  of 
character  which,  to  a  very  great  extent,  applies  to  them 
all. 

During  this,  as  well  as  the  first  winter  of  my  cap 
tivity,  there  was  much  suffering  for  the  want  of  food  in 
our  village  ;  but  from  the  assistance  I  was  enabled  from 
time  to  time  to  give  them,  from  the  supply  that  I  had 
laid  in,  as  well  as  in  the  way  of  hunting,  when  the  state 
7* 


162  FIVE  YEARS  A  CAPTIVE 

of  the  weather  would  admit  of  it,  they  finally  reached 
spring,  without  any  deaths  from  starvation,  though 
many  of  them  were  gaunt  as  hungry  wolves. 

Roxana's  health,  during  this  winter,  seemed  sensibly 
.to  have  improved,  and  when  the  fine  weather  of  spring 
set  in,  she  was  able  to  walk  out  a  little ;  which  she  had 
not  before  done  since  her  arrival  at  the  village.  My 
hopes  were  inspired  with  the  belief  that  she  was  about 
to  recover  from  the  almost  hopeless  condition  to  which 
she  had  been  reduced  by  the  treatment  she  had  received 
from  the  savages  ;  and,  perhaps,  before  we  were  over 
taken  by  another  winter,  we  would  be  enabled  to  make 
our  escape,  and  reach  some  one  of  the  stations  of  the 
"Hudson  Bay  Company."  But  before  so  bold  an  en 
terprise  could  with  safety  be  ventured,  her  strength 
would  have  to  essentially  improve  from  what  it  even 
then  was.  The  journey  would  unquestionably  be  a  hard 
and  trying  one,  for  even  the  best  constitution;  and 
what  could  be  expected,  in  an  enterprise  of  this  kind, 
from  a  delicate  female,  laboring  to  a  serious  extent  un 
der  disease  ?  It  would  certainly  have  been  madness 
and  presumption,  while  in  this  state  of  health,  to  have 
attempted  it. 

The  plan  that  I  had  fixed  upon  in  my  own  mind,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  enterprise,  was  the  following  : 
During  one  of  our  hunting  excursions — at  which  times 
all  our  young  warriors  are  absent  from.the  village,  en 
gaged  in  the  chase — I  would  feign  some  excuse  to  re 
turn  to  the  village,  and  thereby  obtain  leave  of  absence 
for  two  or  three  days,  taking  with  me  the  horse  I  was 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  163 

in  the  habit  of  riding.  Arriving  at  the  village  late  in 
the  night,  and  having  procured  a  second  horse  for  Rox- 
ana  to  ride,  unobserved  by  the  remaining  villagers,  set 
off  on  our  way.  I  thought  it  probable  that,  in  this 
way,  we  could  at  least  obtain  two  or  three  days  the 
start  of  them,  before  they  would  have  any  knowledge  of 
the  game  I  was  playing  off  upon  them,  and  by  that 
time  we  would  be  so  far  in  advance  of  them  that  it 
would  not  be  probable  they  would  overtake  us. 

But,  as  the  reader  will  see  in  the  sequel,  this  beautiful 
plan,  which  had  cost  me  so  much  severe  reflection, 
proved  to  be  a  mere  chimera  of  the  brain,  that  never 
assumed  practical  form,  so  far  as  RoxahV  was  con 
cerned. 

The  spring  and  summer  of  this  year  (1804)  passed 
away  without  the  occurrence  of  any  event  of  particular 
notoriety.  About  the  usual  amount  of  time  was  spent 
in  hunting,  and  the  remainder  in  idleness  about  the 
village. 

Early  in  the  fall  of  this  year,  news  was  brought  to 
our  village  that  a  party  of  thirty  or  forty  pale-face 
warriors  had  been  seen,  about  two  weeks  previous, 
passing  up  the  Missouri  river  in  boats.*  This  news 
was  a  source  of  no  little  wonder  and  anxiety  to 
me.  Who  could  they  have  been  ? — where  were  they 

*  It  is  probable  the  incident  here  alluded  to  "by  Mr.  Dixon, 
was  that  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  in  their  exploring  expedition  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  as,  I  believe,  it  was  during 
this  year  that  they  passed  over  this  region  of  country. — ED. 


164  FIVE  YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

from  ? — and  what  could  have  been  their  business  ?  were 
questions  that  frequently  occcured  to  my  mind,  but 
which  I  could  not  answer. 

I  informed  Roxana  of  the  fact,  and  so  keenly  were 
both  of  our  feelings  touched  with  the  idea  that  Euro 
peans  had  passed  within  our  vicinity,  that  we  both  in 
voluntarily  shed  tears — not  of  sorrow,  nor  yet  of  joy, 
but  from  a  kind  of  commingling  of  both,  in  connection 
with  the  thoughts  of  our  past,  present,  and  future.  I 
would  have  given  the  world  (had  it  been  mine)  to  have 
met  this  party  of  men  on  the  river,  or  to  have  known  in 
time  of  their  passing  by.  We  finally  settled  down  in 
the  belief  that  this  party  had  been  sent  out  by  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  search  of  Roxana,  and  after 
a  fruitless  attempt  were  probably  returning  home. 
These  thoughts  worried  and  perplexed  us  both,  and 
were  a  source  of  misery  to  us.  Like  the  individual  cast 
away  at  sea,  who  has  for  a  long  time  been  clinging  to  a 
frail  piece  of  plank  as  the  only  alternative  between  him 
and  a  watery  grave,  with  what  joy  does  he  hail  the 
appearance  of  a  ship  in  the  distance  !  and,  as  she  ap 
proaches,  how  he  exerts  himself  to  attract  the  attention 
of  those  on  board  !  but,  unobserved  by  any  one,  she 
passes  heedlessly  by  1  How  his  heart  now  sinks  within 
him,  and  how  much  more  terrible  is  the  gloom  that  en 
velops  him  than  it  was  before  ! 

To  a  certain  extent,  this  was  our  condition  upon  this 
occasion.  We  imagined  to  ourselves  with  what  ease  we 
could  have  been  removed  hence,  if  we  only  had  known 


AMONG  THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  165 

of  the  visit  of  this  party  I     But,  alas  1  it  was  now  too 
late. 

But  we  had  seen  too  many  of  the  vicissitudes  of  this 
life,  to  be  long  cast  down  by  thoughts  of  this  kind,  and 
soon  assumed  our  usual  courage  and  cheerfulness. 

In  the  month  of  October,  a  deputation  was  sent  to 
me  from  another  village,  (about  fifty  miles  distant,)  re 
questing  my  aid  in  the  destruction  of  two  brown  bears, 
that  had  recently  destroyed  one  of  their  warriors,  while 
hunting  in  the  mountains.  In  company  with  Hohoako- 
Kiwa  and  three  warriors  of  our  village,  I  set  out  for  the 
point  designated,  and  about  3  o'clock  on  the  second 
day  arrived  at  the  village,  and  found  the  inhabitants, 
as  usual  on  those  occasions,  greatly  terror-stricken  at 
the  audacity  of  the  enemy.  These  bears  were  supposed 
to  inhabit  a  ledge  of  rocks  in  one  of  the  gorges  of  the 
mountain,  about  seven  miles  distant  from  the  village. 

On  the  following  morning,  in  company  with  about 
twenty  of  the  warriors,  I  set  out  for  the  mountains,  in 
search  of  those  disturbers  of  the  good  order  and  peace 
of  society.  Calling  a  halt  in  the  vicinity  of  the  moun 
tains  where  the  enemy  was  supposed  to  be,  (from  the 
known  cowardice  of  these  people,  from  the  fear  of  those 
animals,)  I  requested  them  all,  with  the  exception  of 
one  guide,  to  remain  where  they  then  were,  until  I,  in 
company  with  the  guide,  would  go  up  the  mountain  and 
make  observations.  This  they  readily  consented  to  do, 
and  the  guide  and  myself  slipped  along  the  brow  of 
one  of  the  bluffs,  with  great  caution,  peering  down  the 
rocks,  in  the  meantime,  to  the  bottom  below. 


FIVE  YEARS  A  CAPTIVE 

Whilst  thus  intently  gazing  on  the  scene  beneath, 
our  eyes  fell  upon  two  monster  brown  bears,  laying  in 
the  sun  at  the  head  of  the  gorge,  apparently  asleep, 
while  two  cubs  were  playing  over  them — performing  a 
great  variety  of  antics.  From  the  point  of  our  obser 
vation  the  bank  was  about  fifty  feet  high,  and  nearly 
perpendicular;  and  the  bears  were  almost  directly 
under  us. 

Our  position  was  unfavorable  to  an  unerring  shot,  and 
yet  the  temptation  was  far  too  great  to  forego  a  chance 
so  inviting.  I  drew  up  my  rifle,  and  took  deliberate 
aim  for  the  butt  of  the  ear  of  the  one  at  the  greatest  angle 
from  where  I  stood.  At  the  crack  of  my  rifle,  what 
was  my  astonishment  on  beholding  the  Indian  guide, 
who  had  been  standing  on  a  boulder  on  the  brow  of 
the  bluff,  by  my  side,  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  de 
scending  the  ledge  of  rocks,  to  the  bottom  of  the  gorge 
where  the  bears  were.  He  had  scarcely  struck  the 
bottom  before  he  was  seized  by  both  of  them,  and  al 
most  instantly  torn  to  pieces.  While  in  the  act  of 
reloading  my  gun,  I  distinctly  heard  the  craunching  of 
his  bones  by  the  enraged  animals.  In  my  haste,  I  had 
missed  the  object  of  my  solicitude,  which  under  the  cir 
cumstances  was  perplexing  in  the  extreme.  I  deter 
mined  this  time  to  use  more  precaution  than  I  had  be 
fore  done  ;  and  having  made  what  I  supposed  to  be  a 
proper  allowance  for  the  rise  of  the  ball  in  shooting  on 
so  descending  a  scale  as  this  was,  I  again  discharged  my 
rifle  at  the  curly  pate  of  the  same  animal ;  and  this 
time  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  drop  to  the 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  16 f 

ground,  and  after  a  few  violent  struggles,  give  up  the 
ghost.  My  ball  had  made  a  terrible  incision  in  its 
skull,  and  caused  its  brains  to  flow  profusely.  The 
other  bear,  although  suspicious  that  all  was  not  right  at 
this  point  in  the  contest,  made  no  attempt  to  evade 
what  might  yet  be  in  reserve,  and  still  continued  its  ag 
gressions  upon  the  body  of  the  dead  Indian.  My  po 
sition  was  such  that,  without  more  sagacity  than  these 
animals  seemed  to  possess,  I  was  beyond  its  vision. 

Having  again  loaded  my  gun,  I  aimed,  as  before,  for 
the  brain-pan  of  the  survivor  of  these  desperate  animals; 
and,  although  I  shattered  its  head  in  a  shocking  man 
ner — almost  entirely  carrying  away  the  whole  top  of 
the  skull  with  the  force  of  the  ball — yet  it  run,  before  it 
fell,  about  fifty  yards,  in  directly  an  opposite  course 
from  its  den. 

At  the  first  discharge  of  my  gun,  the  cubs,  well  nigh 
frightened  out  of  their  senses,  had  made  their  escape  to 
the  den,  where  we  left  them,  on  account  of  the  imprac 
ticability  of  coming  at  them. 

Of  the  three  carcasses  that  now  lay  in  proximity,  the 
most  frightful  one  was  that  of  the  guide.  The  flesh  had 
been  torn  from  his  bones,  not  only  by  mouthfuls,  but 
by  sections,  and  nearly  every  bone  in  his  body  had  been 
crushed. 

By  what  process  he  had  been  sent  to  the  bottom  of 
the  gorge  upon  the  discharge  of  my  rifle,  I  never  could 
tell,  unless  the  jar  caused  by  the  explosion  had  set  the 
boulder  upon  which  he  was  standing  in  motion,  thereby 
precipitating  him  down  the  ledge  of  rocks  to  the  bottom. 


•^tt 
168  FIVE  YEARS  A  CAPTIVE 

Having  notified  the  Indians  of  what  had  transpired, 
they  all  accompanied  me  to  the  scene  of  death,  and  not 
withstanding  the  sight  of  the  mangled  remains  of  their 
companion,  seemed  greatly  rejoiced  at  my  success  in 
destroying  an  enemy  so  much  dreaded  by  them.  In 
deed,  such  was  their  joy  on  this  occasion,  that  they  took 
very  little  notice  of  the  casualty  which  had  resulted  in 
the  death  of  the  guide,  and  were  much  more  intent  in 
their  bestowal  of  thanks  upon  me,  whom  they  regarded 
in  the  light  of  a  great  benefactor,  than  they  were  in 
their  duties  toward  the  dead. 

Dispossessing  the  two  bears  of  their  comfortable 
robes,  and  collecting  together  the  fragments  of  the  dead 
Indian,  we  returned  to  the  village,  where  we  were 
greeted  with  the  usual  demonstrations  of  joy  and  re 
spect  by  the  inhabitants.  The  next  day,  the  remains  of 
the  guide  were  taken  a  short  distance  from  the  village, 
and  interred  according  to  custom.  After  this  we  re 
mained  with  them  (at  their  urgent  request)  another  day  ; 
at  the  end  of  which  time  they  reluctantly  suffered  us  to 
return  to  our  village. 

On  arriving  at  home,  with  much  regret  I  learned 
from  Roxana  that  her  health  was  not  so  good  as  it  had 
been  before  I  left.  She  had  by  some  means,  although 
ignorant  of  the  cause,  taken  cold ;  and,  added  to  her 
other  difficulties,  she  was  very  much  annoyed  by  a  hack 
ing  cough.  Her  strength  was  much  exhausted,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  she  could  walk  at  all.  In  con 
sequence  of  this  discouragement,  I  almost  despaired 
of  ever  seeing  her  restored  to  her  wonted  health.  The 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  169 

conclusion  began  to  force  itself  upon  me,  that  the  "  fell 
destroyer,  consumption,"  had  marked  her  for  its  own,  as 
her  symptoms  more  and  more  indicated  every  day. 
During  the  last  spring  and  summer,  her  health  seemed 
to  improve,  and  my  hopes  and  expectations  in  her  be 
half  run  high ;  but  early  in  September  she  began  a 
gradual  decline,  and  now  her  case  seemed  more  hopeless 
than  I  had  ever  witnessed  it. 

From  the  time  of  her  arrival  at  our  village,  in  one  re 
spect,  my  mind  had  gone  under  no  change  touching  her 
case :  I  still  felt  determined  to  stand  by,  protect,  and 
sustain  her  to  the  last — even  though  in  doing  so  I 
should  sacrifice  my  own  life.  For  should  I  do  other 
wise,  I  felt  that  my  conscience  would  forever  condemn 
me,  and  that  I  should  lose  that  respect  for  my  own 
manly  principle,  which  thus  far  in  my  life  had  been  a 
solace  to  me. 

During  the  whole  of  the  following  winter,  there  was 
but  little  change  in  her  condition  for  the  better,  and  I 
was  absent  from  home  just  as  little  as  possible — for  I 
found  that  my  (assumed)  habitual  cheerfulness  and  dis 
position  to  talk,  tended  very  much  to  keep  her  from  de 
sponding,  thereby  promoting  her  comfort  very  essen 
tially.  Although  Ke-Ka  was  kind  to  her,  and  ready  to 
do  any  thing  in  her  power  to  promote  her  happiness, 
yet  she  was  no  society  for  her. 

As  warm  weather  began  to  return  in  the  spring,  her 
health  gradually  improved,  and  during  the  fine  summer 
weather  of  this  year,  (1805,)  she  so  far  recovered  as  to 


170  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

be  able  to  go  out  a  little,  and  my  hopes  for  her  recovery 
again  became  buoyant. 

On  a  certain  occasion  during  the  spring  of  this  year, 
she  told  me  it  would  be  a  gratification  to  her,  if  she 
could  be  provided  with  the  necessary  implements  to 
write  a  little,  at  the  same  time  adding  "that  she 
supposed  nothing  in  the  way  of  paper  and  ink  could  be 
procured  in  this  country. " 

After  a  little  reflection,  I  informed  her  that  I  thought 
I  could  furnish  her  with  a  substitute  that  would  answer 
her  purpose.  What  her  object  was  in  making  this  sug 
gestion,  I  did  not  then  know,  nor  did  I  think  it  would 
be  prudent  in  me  to  inquire. 

I  procured  a  couple  of  otter-skins,  and  after  submit 
ting  them  to  a  process  of  dressing,  by  means  of  which 
I  produced  upon  them  a  smooth,  compact  surface,  I 
gave  them  to  her,  with  the  remark  that  I  thought  she 
would  find  them  an  excellent  substitute  for  paper.  At 
the  same  time,  I  gave  her  a  species  of  ink,  expressed 
from  the  root  of  a  plant  that  is  indigenous  to  the  soil 
of  this  country,  of  a  deep  red  color,  and  that  is  exten 
sively  used  by  the  natives  in  painting,  and  is  almost  in 
delible  in  its  character. 

She  thanked  me  kindly  for  this  display  of  generosity; 
and  having  also  supplied  her  with  a  pen  made  from  the 
quill  of  an  eagle's  wing,  I  felt  gratified  that  I  had  been 
enabled  to  comply  with  a  desire  which  upon  first 
thought  appeared  impracticable.  The  recompense  of 
knowing  that  in  this  matter  I  had  gratified  her  feelings, 
and  that  my  kindness  was  duly  appreciated  by  her,  was 
sufficient  compensation  for  me. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  171 

The  last  winter  had  not  been  so  cold  and  inimical  to 
the  pursuit  of  the  hunter  as  the  one  previous,  and  the 
savages  had  passed  through  it  with  comparatively  little 
suffering. 

In  the  month  of  September,  while  a  number  of  the 
squaws  of  the  village  were  gathering  berries,  at  the  dis 
tance  of  three  or  four  miles,  they  were  attacked  by  a 
brown  panther,  and  one  of  them,  with  her  pappoose, 
destroyed  by  the  ferocious  beast.  The  others  came 
running  home,  out  of  breath,  frightened  almost  out 
of  their  senses,  and  related  what  had  taken  place.  The 
warrior  whose  squaw  and  pappoose  had  been  left  be 
hind  at  the  mercy  of  the  panther,  appeared  to  be  very 
indignant  at  his  loss,  and  his  zeal  and  valor  for  the  pur 
suit  and  destruction  of  the  animal  seemed  to  know  no 
bounds. 

But  little  time  was  consumed  in  getting  ready  for  the 
chase  ;  and  about  thirty  of  us  (inclusive  of  the  discon 
solate  husband  and  father)  set  out,  armed  and  equipped 
in  proper  style.  We  were  not  long  in  reaching  the  vi 
cinity  where  the  bloody  tragedy  had  been  enacted  ;  and 
calling  a  halt,  at  my  suggestion  the  party  separated,  in 
order  to  form  a  circle  around  the  locality  where  (from 
the  account  given  us  by  the  squaws)  we  supposed  the 
enemy  to  be. 

Sufficient  time  having  been  given  for  each  man  to 
take  his  position,  and  be  ready  for  action  in  case  the 
panther  sought  to  make  its  escape,  we  commenced 
closing  in  toward  the  centre.  Upon  reaching  the  brow 
of  a  small  hillock,  one  of  the  Indians  pointed  it  out  to 


It 2  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

me,  at  the  distance  of  about  one  hundred  steps.  It 
was  near  the  foot  of  the  hill,  still  in  the  act  of  replen 
ishing  its  stomach  from  the  remains  of  the  pappoose. 
I  immediately  brought  my  rifle  to  bear  upon  it,  and 
aiming  for  the  region  of  the  heart,  pulled  the  trigger  ; 
and,  after  one  tremendous  scream,  it  broke  and  run  for 
its  life,  in  the  opposite  direction  from  where  I  was. 

It  so  happened  that  the  line  of  its  course  led  to  the  point 
occupied  by  the  warrior  whose  squaw  and  pappoose  had 
been  destroyed  by  it,  and  who,  a  short  time  before,  by 
both  words  and  actions,  exhibited  so  much  courage  and 
pluck  in  behalf  of  its  destruction.  But,  seeing  the 
panther,  with  all  the  speed  which  it  was  capable  of  exert 
ing,  approach  the  point  where  he  had  taken  his  position, 
his  courage  at  once  gave  way,  and  relying  upon  his  legs 
for  his  deliverance  from  the  fangs  of  the  enemy,  with 
the  speed  of  a  frightened  gazelle,  he  bounded  over  the 
ground  in  the  direction  of  the  village,  without  even  an 
attempt  at  its  destruction,  or  scarcely  taking  time  to  look 
back,  in  order  to  observe  the  imminence  of  his  danger. 
The  scene  was  so  ludicrous  that  I  could  not  refrain 
from  a  hearty  laugh.  To  see  this  warrior,  who  but  a 
short  time  before  had  exhibited  so  much  zeal  and  hero 
ism  in  the  enterprise,  now  fleeing  with  such  haste  and 
determination  when  he  was  in  no  manner  of  danger,  was 
more  than  my  gravity  could  endure — even  on  so  melan 
choly  an  occasion  as  this.  We  saw  no  more  of  our  hero 
until  we  returned  to  the  village,  Avhere  we  found  him, 
silent  and  sullen,  in  no  way  disposed  to  converse  on  the 
day's  adventure. 


AMONG   THE  BLACK-FEET  INDIANS.  113 

I  had  shot  the  panther  too  low ;  and  although  in 
flicting  upon  it  a  severe  and  perhaps  fatal  wound,  it 
succeeded  in  making  its  escape  from  us.  We  pursued 
its  trail  some  four  or  five  miles,  and,  though  it  bled 
freely,  we  did  not  come  up  with  it,  when,  on  account  of 
the  lateness  of  the  day,  we  gave  it  up. 

The  body  of  the  pappoose  was  nearly  consumed  by 
the  panther — there  being  but  the  head  and  a  few  of  the 
larger  bones  left.  The  body  of  the  squaw  laid  about 
ten  feet  from  the  pappoose,  and  although  considerably 
mangled  and  disfigured,  had  not  been  much  preyed 
upon  by  the  hungry  beast.  The  mortal  remains  of  the 
mother,  and  the  remaining  fragments  of  the  child,  were 
taken  to  the  village  by  the  savages,  and  on  the  follow 
ing  day  consigned  to  their  final  resting  place. 


If  4  FIVE   YEAES   A   CAPTIVE 


CHAPTER    IX. 

DURING  this  winter,  also,  owing  to  the  decline  in  Rox- 
ana's  health,  I  was  away  from  home  as  little  as  circum 
stances  would  admit — only  spending  sufficient  time  in 
the  chase  to  keep  up  our  supplies  from  time  to  time. 
There  was  but  little  of  the  time  that  she  was  able  to  be 
up,  and  the  conclusion  was  forced  upon  my  mind,  that 
without  a  speedy  and  radical  change  in  the  state  of  her 
health,  death  would  soon  accomplish  what  little  re 
mained  of  his  work.  By  times  she  was  greatly  annoyed 
by  her  cough,  and  though  suffering  but  little  physical 
pain,  yet  the  lamp  of  life  seemed  to  burn  with  less  and 
less  brilliancy,  as  time  rolled  on. 

Although  her  condition  was  a  source  of  constant 
pain  and  regret  to  me,  to  Tier  the  sky  of  the  future  was 
clear,  and  unobstructed  by  a  single  cloud.  Her  mind 
seemed  as  calm  and  placid  as  the  blue  ether  above  us, 
being  well  equipped  and  furnished  with  all  the  armor 
necessary  to  the  Christian  warfare.  To  her,  Death  had 
lost  all  his  terrors,  and  was  regarded  as  a  friend,  whose 
call  was  rather  to  be  desired. 

Notwithstanding  I  had  been  raised  in  a  Christian 
land,  by  pious  parents,  there  was  yet  something  about 
her  that  I  could  not  comprehend.  Her  calm  resigna 
tion  and  humility,  under  all  her  trials  and  sufferings, 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  It 5 

gave  me  a  realizing  sense  of  the  power  of  the  Chris 
tian's  hope,  that  I  never  before  had  conceived  of. 

She  was  undoubtedly  aware  that  the  time  of  her 
departure  was  at  hand,  and  would  frequently,  in  her 
conversation,  allude  to  the  fact ;  but  for  a  time,  so  re 
pugnant  was  the  thought  to  my  feelings,  that  I  could 
not  reconcile  my  mind  to  it,  and  would  vainly  endeavor 
to  convince  her,  as  well  as  myself,  to  the  contrary. 
Seeing  that  these  thoughts  were  a  source  of  trouble  to 
me,  she  would,  for  the  time  being,  refrain  from  pressing 
them  upon  me ;  but,  subsequently,  as  occasion  offered, 
would  call  my  attention  to  it,  with  the  evident  intention 
of  preparing  my  mind  for  the  occasion. 

This  spring  (1806)  set  in  unusually  early,  and  the 
weather  was  warm  and  pleasant  from  early  in  March, 
and  had  the  effect,  in  an  essential  degree,  of  promoting 
Roxana's  health  ;  for  as  soon  as  it  became  settled,  she 
took  a  change  for  the  better.  Had  the  usual  amount  of 
changeable  and  disagreeable  weather  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  spring  of  this  year  that  is  generally  the 
case  in  this  climate,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for 
her  to  have  survived  till  April,  as  every  symptom  au 
gured  a  speedy  dissolution.  I  had  given  up  all  thought 
of  ever  seeing  her  again  upon  her  feet,  and  the  reader 
may  judge  of  my  agreeable  surprise  when  I  discovered 
that  her  strength  in  some  measure  was  returning,  and 
observed  other  signs  of  improvement.  By  the  first 
of  May  she  was  able  to  sit  up  a  little,  and  ultimately 
so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  walk  to  the  door  of 
our  hut  without  assistance. 


176  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

Hohoako-Kiwa,  in  conjunction  with  several  other 
chiefs  of  the  nation,  had  for  some  time  been  meditating 
a  descent  upon  the  territory  of  the  Flat-Heads,  in  order 
to  avenge  upon  them  an  old  grudge,  and  at  the  same 
time  supply  their  necessities  with  an  adequate  number 
of  the  enemy's  horses. 

These  two  nations  have  been  cordial  enemies  time  out 
of  mind,  and  take  peculiar  pleasure  in  afflicting  each 
other  with  every  enormity  that  their  ingenuity  can  de 
vise.  About  the  first  of  June  was  fixed  upon  as  the 
time  to  set  out  on  this  hostile  expedition,  and  prepara 
tions  for  the  event  were  in  rapid  progress.  I  had 
hoped,  through  some  expedient  of  my  own  upon  this 
occasion,  I  would  be  permitted  to  remain  behind  ;  but 
such  was  not  the  case.  Hohoako-Kiwa  would  hear 
nothing  in  the  form  of  an  excuse  from  me ;  and  had  I 
not  finally  consented  to  accompany  them  upon  this  ex 
pedition,  I  verily  believe  he  never  would  have  forgiven 
me,  and,  perhaps,  have  lost  all  confidence  in  my  former 
professions  of  friendship.  On  finally  giving  him  my 
consent  to  go  with  them,  he  seemed  almost  overjoyed, 
and  declared  that  on  so  important  an  occasion  as  this 
was  likely  to  be,  he  could  not  do  without  me.  I  had  two 
reasons  for  desiring  to  stay  at  home.  The  first  and 
most  important  was,  the  reluctance  I  felt  in  leaving,  for 
so  long  a  time,  Roxana  ;  and  the  other  was,  the  disgust 
I  felt  in  being  a  participant  in  these  barbarous  forays. 

But  for  several  years  I  had  been  the  child  of  the 
freaks  of  fortune,  and  why  should  I  not  be  on  this  oc 
casion  also  ?  I  was  not  consulting  my  own  will,  but 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  177 

that  of  those  who  had  power  over  me,  and,  in  some 
sense  at  least,  I  was  not  responsible  for  my  own  con 
duct  in  these  transactions. 

Every  preparation  having  been  completed,  we  left  the 
rendezvous  on  the  second  day  of  June,  and  directed  our 
course  for  a  certain  pass  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  (fa 
miliar  to  the  Indians,)  on  the  west  side  of  which  lay 
the  country  of  the  enemy.  Our  party  consisted  of 
about  two  hundred  warriors,  equipped  and  painted  in 
true  savage  style.  We  were  all  mounted  on  horses,  and, 
as  usual,  rode  in  single  file,  at  a  full  canter — making  but 
little  noise,  and  only  halting  long  enough  to  graze  our 
horses  and  partake  of  a  little  food  ourselves. 

On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  we  reached  the  ter 
ritory  of  the  Flat-Heads,  having  traveled  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles.  We  were  now  within  forty 
miles  of  the  village  on  which  the  attack  was  to  be  made, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  journey  required  great  secrecy 
and  caution,  in  order  to  avoid  detection  by  the  enemy. 
After  a  brief  consultation,  it  was  determined  that,  after 
grazing  our  horses  and  taking  a  few  hours'  rest,  we 
would  continue  our  journey  to  within  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  of  the  village,  and,  having  secreted  ourselves  as 
well  as  we  could,  would  remain  over  the  next  day,  in 
order  to  recruit  ourselves  and  reconnoitre  the  adjacent 
country,  preparatory  to  the  consummation  of  our  object 
on  the  following  night.  This  arrangement  was  accord 
ingly  carried  out;  and  about  2  o'clock  at  night,  we 
reached  a  grove  of  timber,  at  about  the  proper  distance 
from  the  village,  as  we  supposed,  in  which  we  secreted 
ourselves. 


178  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

Early  in  the  morning  spies  were  sent  out,  with  in 
structions,  after  having  made  all  the  observations  neces 
sary  touching  the  country,  locality  of  the  village,  &c. , 
to  return  at  as  early  an  hour  in  the  evening  as  was  pos 
sible.  We  remained  secreted  in  the  forest  all  day,  and 
preserved  a  degree  of  quietude  characteristic  of  these 
wild  people,  while  preparing  to  attack  an  enemy. 

About  8  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  spies  returned, 
giving  us  the  desired  information — reporting  that  the 
village  contained  about  fifty  huts,  and  was  numerously 
inhabited  by  warriors,  squaws  and  pappooses.  They 
also  reported  having  seen  many  fine  horses  grazing  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  village.  This  last  information  was 
especially  gratifying  to  the  warriors  of  our  party,  as 
they  are  not  only  accomplished  horse-thieves,  but  take 
great  delight  in  the  possession  of  a  liberal  supply  of 
these  animals. 

Every  thing  being  put  to  rights,  we  set  out,  on  foot, 
for  the  enemy's  quarters,  expecting  to  arrive  there  about 
1  o'clock  at  night.  Our  horses  were  (as  usual  on  those 
occasions)  left  behind,  in  charge  of  a  sufficient  guard, 
until  further  word  from  us. 

Having  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  village,  a  halt  was 
ordered,  and  the  party  divided  into  three  squads,  prop 
erly  officered,  with  orders  to  spare  neither  age  nor  sex, 
and  the  attack  to  be  simultaneously  made. 

The  greatest  danger  of  alarming  the  fears  of  the 
sleeping  enemy,  was  to  be  apprehended  from  their  ever- 
watchful  dogs,  who  are  always  upon  the  qui  vive,  in 
order  to  discover  something  to  excite  into  action  their 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  If  9 

barking  propensities.  In  case  the  enemy  should  be 
alarmed  from  any  cause,  on  the  proper  signal  being 
given,  our  party  was  to  advance  rapidly,  and  before  they 
would  have  time  to  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  dan 
ger  with  which  they  were  menaced,  rush  upon  them, 
from  all  sides,  with  sanguinary  effect. 

These  arrangements  being  made,  we  continued  our 
movements  upon  the  village,  with  steps  so  light  and 
well  directed,  that  a  person  at  the  distance  of  ten  feet 
could  scarcely  have  heard  us.  In  this  way  we  moved 
forward,  without  even  exciting  the  attention  of  the  dogs, 
till  within  a  few  rods  of  the  huts ;  when  one  of  the  ca 
nines,  with  scent  more  acute  than  his  companions, 
alarmed  the  whole  gang  by  a  few  shrill,  nervous  yelps. 
Prompt  and  vigorous  action  was  now  the  highway  to 
success ;  and,  accordingly,  a  general  rush  and  deadly 
attack  was  commenced  by  our  party  upon  the  be 
wildered  inmates  of  the  huts ;  and  before  they  had 
time  to  gain  their  thresholds,  to  determine  the  cause  of 
alarm  to  their  dogs,  they  were  cut  down  like  grass  be 
fore  the  scythe,  and  their  bodies  horribly  mangled  I 
Whether  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  escaped 
this  massacre  or  not,  is  more  than  I  can  tell,  but  am  of 
opinion  not.  Such  was  the  sudden  and  vigorous  nature 
of  the  attack,  that  escape  was  rendered  almost  impos 
sible. 

The  contest  lasted  but  a  few  minutes,  when  a  village 
of  near  two  hundred  souls  was  silent  in  death.  The 
horrors  of  this  night's  work  could  only  be  realized 
when  daylight  fully  revealed  them  in  the  morning.  At 


180  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

this  time  I  visited  most  of  the  huts,  and  contemplated 
a  picture  of  death  and  savage  brutality,  that  has  ever 
since  remained  fresh  in  my  mind.  Old  and  young, 
males  and  females,  with  bodies  mangled  and  gory — 
sometimes  in  groups,  and  again  at  intervals  from  each 
other — met  my  gaze  in  every  direction.  The  sight  was 
not  only  disgusting  to  my  feelings,  but  sickening,  and 
caused  me  to  shudder  at  the  barbarous  cannibalism  of 
these  people. 

The  war-dance,  with  its  usual  wild  accompaniments, 
occupied  the  remainder  of  the  night,  after  the  accom 
plishment  of  this  murderous  act ;  and  the  fore  part  of 
the  next  day  was  occupied  in  scalping  and  plundering 
the  dead. 

The  Black-Feet  lost  but  two  of  their  warriors  in  this 
engagement,  in  addition  to  a  few  others  slightly  wound 
ed,  and  neither  took  nor  lost  any  prisoners. 

At  the  risk  of  my  popularity  with  these  people,  I  re 
fused  to  take  an  active  part  in  this  outrage — regarding 
it  as  a  piece  of  cold-blooded  butchery,  cowardly  and 
dishonorable. 

Having,  in  proper  form,  buried  the  two  warriors 
who  were  killed  by  the  Flat-Heads,  and  collected  to 
gether  all  the  spoils,  with  over  fifty  of  the  enemy's 
horses,  we  were  ready  to  set  out  on  our  return.  Our 
other  horses,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  brought  up  ;  and 
after  setting  fire  to  every  hut  in  the  village,  we  left  this 
scene  of  devastation  and  death.  It  was  about  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  at  the  time  of  our  departure,  and  we 
camped  for  the  night  upon  the  same  spot  of  ground 
where  we  had  laid  concealed  the  day  previous. 


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~V 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  181 

We  had  but  little  noise  in  our  camp  on  this  night, 
owing  to  the  fact,  in  part,  that  most  of  the  savages  had 
slept  none  the  night  previous,  and  were  now  disposed  to 
rest — as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  it  was  deemed  by 
them  an  act  of  prudence,  in  order  to  avoid  surprise 
from  some  new  party  of  the  enemy,  who  might  be  lurk 
ing  about  the  country. 

Early  in  the  morning  we  were  ready  to  resume  our 
journey,  but  owing  to  one  of  those  unlooked-for  casual 
ties  with  which  we  occasionally  meet  during  the  course 
of  our  pilgrimage  through  life,  we  were  detained  till 
the  afternoon. 

One  of  the  horses  taken  from  the  enemy  proved  to 
be  restive  and  vicious,  and  peremptorily  refused  to  allow 
any  one  of  our  party  to  ride  him.  Hohoako-Kiwa, 
who  had  always  piqued  himself  upon  his  horsemanship, 
undertook  to  bring  the  refractory  animal  to  submission; 
and  having  leaped  upon  its  back  with  the  agility  of  a 
monkey,  it  reared  and  plunged  with  desperation ;  the 
chief  applied  the  whip  to  it  to  the  utmost  extent  of  his 
ability.  Finding  this  to  be  rather  an  uninteresting  ex 
ercise,  the  horse  finally  took  to  his  heels,  and  run  with 
all  the  speed  of  which  he  was  capable — the  whip  being 
freely  applied  in  the  meantime.  Striking  across  the 
plain  in  an  opposite  direction  from  where  we  were,  and 
having  gone  to  the  distance  of  perhaps  half  a  mile,  he 
stumbled  and  pitched  forward,  turning  a  complete 
summerset,  throwing  the  chief  with  tremendous  impetus 
several  yards  in  advance  of  him,  with  his  head  and 
shoulders  against  a  rock,  fracturing  his  skull  and  killing 


182  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

him  instantly.  By  the  time  we  reached  the  fatal  spot, 
the  horse  had  regained  his  feet,  and  was  continuing  his 
flight  far  in  advance  of  us. 

The  scene  before  me  (notwithstanding  the  horrors  of 
the  one  I  had  just  passed  through)  was  exceedingly 
melancholy.  Before  me,  in  lifeless  form,  lay  all  that  re 
mained  of  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  brave  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  Black-Foot  nation  ;  and  the  one  who  had 
given  the  late  expedition,  as  well  as  all  others  in  which 
he  had  engaged,  life  and  importance.  I  could  not  help 
but  think  this  calamity  was  brought  on  him  and  his 
people  by  the  special  providence  of  the  Almighty,  in 
consequence  of  the  cruel  massacre  inflicted  upon  a  por 
tion  of  the  Flat-Heads  but  a  few  hours  previous. 

Although  Hohoako-Kiwa  was  vindictive  and  cruel  to 
ward  those  he  regarded  as  enemies,  to  his  friends  he  was 
habitually  kind  and  condescending,  and  was  universally 
beloved  and  respected  by  them.  There  was  but  little 
vanity  in  his  composition  ;  and  upon  no  occasion  did  I 
observe  airs  of  authority  or  superiority  over  his  people, 
notwithstanding  the  dignity  of  his  office.  In  all  his 
transactions  with  his  people,  he  was  scrupulously  just 
and  truthful ;  and  in  his  death  I  felt  that  I  had  lost  not 
only  my  best,  but  most  influential  friend.  For  several 
years  his  friendship  for  me  had  been  warm  and  constant, 
and  whatever  his  infirmities  in  other  respects  might  be, 
I  felt  that  in  him  I  was  deprived  of  a  friend  whose  con 
stancy  of  heart  was  not  dependant  upon  external  de 
monstrations  of  worldly  glory,  or  the  vanity  of  riches. 
With  the  aid  of  a  Christian  education,  he  would  (in  my 
opinion)  not  only  have  been  a  good,  but  a  great  man. 


AMONG    THE   BLACK- FEET   INDIANS.  183 

We  prepared  a  kind  of  litter  from  a  bear-skin,  in 
which  we  conveyed  his  remains  to  the  camp.  It  was 
the  desire  of  us  all  that  he  should  be  taken  home  and 
interred  near  the  village ;  but  from  the  fact  that  the 
weather  was  very  warm,  and  that  we  were  at  least  three 
days'  journey  from  there,  (without  any  impediment  to 
our  progress,)  it  was  thought  best  to  bury  him  where 
we  then  were.  An  excavation  was  made  in  the  ground 
near  the  camp,  about  two  feet  deep  ;  the  body  was  then 
wrapped  in  one  of  our  best  bear-skins,  and  then  placed 
in  the  excavation.  His  arms,  and  implements  of  every 
kind,  together  with  his  apparel,  were  then  placed  by  his 
side  ;  and,  after  the  usual  ceremony  was  gone  through 
by  one  of  the  other  chiefs  who  accompanied  us  on  this 
expedition,  the  body  was  covered  with  dirt  and  stones, 
and  we  prepared  to  set  off  on  our  journey. 

The  solemnity  and  regret  exhibited  by  the  savages 
on  the  death  of  their  chief,  was  something  that  I  had 
not  before  witnessed,  upon  the  death  of  any  one  else, 
since  my  sojourn  with  them.  I  had  come  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  those  melancholy  visitations  were  occasions  of 
joy,  rather  than  grief ;  but,  in  this  case  at  least,  I  was 
mistaken ;  for  a  well-defined  sorrow  seemed  to  settle 
down  upon  the  features  of  the  whole  party,  and  during 
the  remainder  of  their  journey  they  indulged  but  little 
in  their  usual  mirth  and  vanity. 

We  reached  our  village  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth 
day  of  our  homeward  journey  ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
village  who  had  remained  at  home,  learning  from  us  the 
sad  intelligence  concerning  the  death  of  Hohoako-Kiwa, 


184  FIVE   YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

greatly  lamented  the  calamity,  and  regarded  their  loss 
as  almost  irreparable. 

I  found  Roxana's  health  about  the  same  as  when  I 
left ;  and,  as  usual,  she  was  much  rejoiced  that  I  was 
again  permitted  to  return  without  having  received  any 
injury.  She  was  very  much  affected  with  my  account 
of  the  death  of  Hohoako-Kiwa,  whom  she  could  not 
help  but  respect,  for  his  uniform  kindness  toward  us 
both,  ever  since  our  arrival  at  the  village. 

The  account  of  the  massacre  of  the  Flat-Heads  I 
kept  from  her,  knowing  it  would  only  have  a  tendency 
to  excite  her  feelings,  and  thereby  strengthen  her  dis 
ease. 

A  brother  of  Hohoako-Kiwa,  who  for  some  time  had 
officiated  as  council  chief,  was  duly  inaugurated  into  the 
office  of  his  deceased  brother,  under  the  name  of  ^ah- 
Kiwan,  ("the  brave  warrior.")  The  initiatory -service 
took  place  on  the  first  day  of  July,  and  was  attended 
and  participated  in  by  a  large  concourse  of  savages 
from  distant  parts  of  the  nation.  Many  of  their  most 
distinguished  chiefs  were  present  in  honor  of  so  impor 
tant  an  occasion,  as  well  as  to  ordain  the  new  chief. 
The  simplicity  and  solemnity  by  which  the  whole  cere 
mony  was  characterized,  were  truly  impressive.  There 
was  no  effort  at  ostentation  or  display ;  but  pure,  un 
alloyed,  primeval  simplicity  constituted  both  the  begin 
ning  and  the  ending  of  the  whole  transaction. 

The  substance  of  the  ceremony  consisted  in  a  solemn 
pledge,  on  the  part  of  the  new  chief,  to  nourish  and 
protect  his  people,  and  to  hold  himself  in  readiness,  at 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  185 

all  times,  to  punish  in  an  exemplary  manner  the  enemies 
of  their  nation  and  people. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  this  rite,  an  old  chief,  whose 
locks  were  as  white  as  the  driven  snow,  with  great  de 
liberation  and  dignity  rose  to  his  feet,  and  made  a  kind 
of  eulogistic  speech  in  behalf  of  the  deceased  chief. 
His  remarks,  though  in  their  own  language,  was  in  sub 
stance  as  follows : 

"Braves  and  warriors  of  the  Black-Foot  nation  : — I 
have  lived  to  see  the  snows  of  an  hundred  winters ; 
I  have  fought  many  battles  and  taken  many  scalps  ;  I 
was  familiar  with  the  bears  and  buffalo  when  most  of 
you  were  not  yet  born.  I  was  well  acquainted  with 
your  late  chief,  and  his  father  before  him — they  were 
both  brave,  and  deserved  well  of  our  nation.  Hohoako- 
Kiwa  I  sincerely  loved — not  because  he  was  only  brave, 
but  also  because  he  was  faithful  and  just.  I  dandled 
him  upon  my  knee  when  he  was  but  a  mere  pap- 
poose,  and  have  known  him  ever  since.  The  Great 
Spirit,  no  doubt,  had  need  of  him,  and  hath  called  him 
to  the  great  hunting-ground  prepared  for  our  people, 
and  also  where,  before  the  fall  of  many  more  leaves,  I 
will  follow  him." 

During  the  delivery  of  this  address,  the  profoundest 
attention  was  given  to  the  old  warrior ;  and  that  eye, 
which  was  dim  and  languid  with  age,  (as  he  progressed 
in  his  remarks,)  again  kindled  and  flashed  with  its 
wonted  lustre  and  fire. 
8* 


186  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

Having  finished  his  remarks,  he  slowly  resumed  his 
seat,  and  the  assembly  immediately  broke  up  and  dis 
persed. 

From  this  time  until  winter  set  in,  the  most  of  my 
time  was  spent  hunting,  and  laying  in  a  supply  of  pro 
visions  that  would  last  us  till  spring.  During  the  fall 
of  this  year  we  had  extraordinary  success  in  the  chase. 
Game,  of  almost  every  kind  common  to  the  country, 
was  abundant,  and  we  found  but  little  difficulty  in  se 
curing  it  to  almost  any  extent  we  desired.  I  dried  and 
laid  in,  on  this  occasion,  a  much  larger  quantity  of  meat 
than  I  had  ever  done  before,  and  as  circumstances 
turned  out,  it  was  well  that  I  did  so. 

About  the  middle  of  October,  Roxana  was  taken 
much  worse,  and,  as  time  advanced,  her  disease  seemed 
rapidly  to  culminate  to  a  fatal  crisis.  Great  physical 
prostration  had  again  taken  hold  upon  her,  and,  by 
times,  she  could  not  turn  herself  in  bed,  or  speak  above 
her  breath.  In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  she  became 
extremely  emaciated ;  and,  from  every  indication,  I 
thought  it  was  not  possible  for  her  to  survive  any  con 
siderable  length  of  time.  But  when  upon  the  very 
verge  of  death,  (apparently,)  her  disease  wftuld  seem, 
to  some  extent,  occasionally  to  release  the  malignity  of 
its  grasp — as  though  it  was  sporting  with  the  intensity 
of  her  sufferings — and,  for  a  brief  space  of  time,  again 
permit  her  partially  to  recuperate  her  exhausted  ener 
gies,  when  it  would  return  with  more  severity  than 
ever. 

In  this  way  she  continued  gradually  to  wear  away, 


AMONG    THE    BLACK-FEET    INDIANS.  18T 

until  the  fifth  day  of  March,  180T,  when  death  closed 
the  scene  of  her  mortal  existence,  and  her  spirit  took  its 
departure  for  that  haven  of  rest  prepared  for  the  right 
eous,  at  the  right  hand  of  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne  and  judgeth  all  things  well. 

During  the  whole  course  of  Roxana's  lingering  illness, 
I  never  heard  a  murmur  or  complaint  from  her,  or  even 
observed  an  expression  in  her  countenance  indicative  of 
impatience  or  anxiety.  Her  whole  being  appeared  to 
be  merged  in  the  good  pleasure  and  will  of  her  Maker, 
and  was  entirely  satisfied  to  abide,  with  humility,  what 
soever  His  providence  deemed  proper  in  her  case. 

Was  I  about  to  set  oftt  upon  a  mission  to  travel  the 
world  over,  in  search  of  a  perfect  exemplification  of  the 
power  of  the  grace  of  God  upon  the  human  heart,  I 
would  despair  of  finding  one  more  beautifully  illustrative 
of  this  great  truth  than  was  the  case  of  Roxana.  By 
means  of  the  long  and  severe  chastening  to  which  she 
had  been  exposed,  her  Christian  character  had  developed 
itself  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  and,  like  fine  gold 
thoroughly  purged  by  the  heat  of  the  fire,  was  void  of 
every  impurity. 

Notwithstanding  the  joy  I  felt  that  all  her  sufferings 
were  now  Over,  and  that  she  was  unspeakably  happy  in 
Heaven,  yet  how  utterly  lost  did  I  feel,  and  what  gloomy 
forebodings  'took  possession  of  my  mind  when  I  fully 
realized  that  Roxana  was  gone.  She  had  for  several 
years  been  my  constant  companion  when  at  home,  and 
perhaps  the  only  one  in  the  world  who  knew  my  condi 
tion,  and  could  sympathize  with  me.  Her  happiness 


188  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

had  been  the  great  object  and  centre  of  all  my  desires 
and  exertions  for  several  years,  and  I  now  felt  as  though 
all  that  had  rendered  my  life  at  all  endurable  amongst 
these  people  had  been  taken  away  from  me,  and  that 
henceforth  my  cup  would  be  full  of  wormwood  and  gall. 
I  felt  no  remorse  of  conscience  in  consequence  of  having 
come  short  of  any  known  duty  toward  her ;  for  so  far 
as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances,  I  spared  neither 
time  nor  trouble  in  order  to  make  her  comfortable. 

To  a  person  tenderly  reared  in  civilized  society,  as 
was  the  case  with  Roxana,  neither  the  food  upon  which 
she  had  to  subsist,  or  scarcely  anything  else  with  which 
we  were  provided,  was  calculated  to  contribute  either  to 
her  health  or  comfort ;  but,  knowing  it  was  the  best 
that  was  possible,  she  was  entirely  content.  Times  al 
most  without  number,  she  has  expressed  her  gratitude 
to  me  for  my  attentions  to  her ;  and  in  her  prayers 
uniformly  asked  the  Lord,  of  His  abundance,  to  suitably 
reward  me  for  my  kindnesses  to  her. 

About  three  weeks  before  her  death,  she  informed  me 
of  a  beautiful  dream  she  just  had ;  and,  as  it  made  a 
lasting  impression  on  my  mind,  with  the  permission  of 
the  reader,  I  will  relate  it  in  her  own  words  : 

"  I  dreamed,  that  I  died,  and  was  carried  by  the  an 
gels  to  Heaven,  where  I  beheld  my  father,  and  an  innu 
merable  number  of  redeemed  spirits,  clad  in  raiment  white 
as  snow,  congregated  around  the  Throne,  singing  praises 
to  the  Lamb.  Upon  entering  the  realms  of  bliss,  I  was 
greeted  with  ravishing  demonstrations  of  joy,  and  my 


AMONG   THE   BLACK- FEET   INDIANS.  189 

Savior  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  with  a  smile  and  cor 
diality  of  greeting  which  thrilled  my  soul  with  delight, 
welcomed  me  to  the  home  of  the  blessed.  His  appearance 
was  lovely  beyond  anything  that  my  imagination  in  its 
loftiest  flights  had  conceived,  or  of  the  power  of  words 
to  describe.  I  saw  the  River  of  Life,  clear  as  crystal, 
flowing  through  the  Heavenly  plain,  and  an  inconceiva 
ble  variety  of  ambrosial  fruits  kissing  its  refreshing  wa 
ters.  Birds  of  rarest  beauty  and  plumage  discoursed 
seraphic  music,  and  flitted  from  branch  to  branch  amidst 
the  gorgeous  foliage  of  the  tree  of  Life.  Myriads  of 
angels,  with  golden  pinions  and  extended  wings,  hov 
ered  around  the  Throne  of  the  Lamb,  and  chanted 
His  praises  day  and  night.  The  brightness  of  the 
Heavenly  City  infinitely  surpassed  that  of  the  Sun,  and 
such  was  the  glory  and  splendor  thereof,  that  my  soul 
was  filled  with  the  most  exalted  admiration  and  bliss. 
In  my  dream,  I  thought  I  became  so  inexpressibly  happy 
in  contemplating  the  glory  and  splendor  of  the  scene 
before  me,  that  I  was  completely  lost  and  swallowed  up 
in  its  contemplation.  My  capacity  for  enjoyment  was 
infinitely  enlarged,  being  as  boundless  as  the  domains  of 
Heaven  ;  and  yet  my  soul  was  filled  to  the  extent  of  its 
capacity,  with  a  sense  of  joy  and  bliss  which  no  words 
can  describe.  No  exhibition  of  pain  or  suffering  did  I 
witness  there.  Joy,  love  and  peace  pervaded  every 
countenance,  and  the  fullness  and  completeness  of  our 
rest,  like  the  waters  of  a  mighty  river,  flowed  on,  and 
still  on,  through  the  infinitude  of  eternity. 

But  of  all  the  beautiful  objects  that  I  witnessed  in 


190  FIVE   YEARS    A    CAPTIVE 

my  dream,  there  was  none  so  lovely  and  enchanting  to 
my  gaze  as  the  Redeemer  of  the  world — for  the  bright 
ness  of  His  glory  lighted  up  the  heavens,  and  gave  en 
chantment  to  the  scene.  His  crown  was  of  burnished 
gold,  and  sparkled  in  the  rays  of  light  refracted  from 
the  brow  of  Omnipotence,  with  a  resplendent  brightness 
that  caused  the  stars  to  vail  their  faces  in  darkness. 
His  presence  was  the  glory  of  the  city,  and  His  praises 
constituted  the  theme  of  all  tongues.  Oh  !  the  raptur 
ous  loveliness  of  this  vision !  and  how  inadequate  in 
description  are  my  words. " 

This  'interesting  dream  was  related  by  Roxana  in  a 
spirit  and  tone  of  voice  that  indicated  to  me  that  she 
appreciated  it,  in  some  sense,  as  a  foretaste  of  that  haven 
of  bliss  which  was  in  reserve  for  her  enjoyment  at  no 
distant  day. 

By  the  aid  of  my  axe  and  auger,  I  made,  from  a  few 
puncheons,  a  rough  coffin,  into  which  Ke-Ka  placed  the 
remains,  after  having  carefully  wrapped  them  in  some  of 
the  finest  fur  that  I  could  obtain  for  the  purpose.  By 
means  of  a  wooden  shovel,  prepared  by  me  for  the  oc 
casion,  I  dug  her  grave  to  the  depth  of  three  and  one- 
half  feet.  The  locality  for  the  same  was  selected  by 
myself,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  village,  upon 
the  summit  of  a  beautiful  mound-shaped  spot  of  ground, 
beneath  the  rich  and  ever  green  foliage  of  a  stalwart, 
cone-shaped  pine.  With  the  exception  of  this  tree, 
there  was  no  timber  within  forty  rods  of  it — and  the 
ground  in  the  vicinity  was  rolling,  and  covered  during 
the  summer  and  fall  with  a  beautiful  sward  of  grass. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET    INDIANS.  191 

About  two  o'clock  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  month, 
with  the  assistance  of  a  number  of  the  Indians,  I  con 
veyed  the  remains  to  the  grave  prepared  for  their  re 
ception,  where  my  last  attentions  to  all  that  was  mortal 
of  Roxana  were  bestowed. 

Many  of  the  Indians,  both  male  and  female,  attended 
the  burial,  and  in  deference  to  my  feelings,  showed  as 
much  respect  as  was  consistent  with  their  ignorance. 
They  were  much  surprised  and  amused  at  the  novelty 
of  the  proceeding,  and  were  anxious  to  know  why  I  did 
not  procure  the  services  of  the  chief,  to  officiate  in  the 
funeral  service  ;  but  upon  being  informed  that  in  my 
country  this  was  contrary  to  our  religious  belief,  they 
gave  me  no  more  trouble. 

Ke-Ka  seemed  very  much  affected  at  the  death  of  Rox 
ana.  She  had  lived  with  us  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
her  attachment  to  her  had  become  strong  indeed.  She 
would  sit  for  hours  together,  in  the  most  melancholy  and 
dejected  mood,  without  uttering  a  word,  while  the  tears 
would  steal  down  her  brawny  cheeks,  and  drop  to  the 
ground.  I  consoled  her  feelings  as  well  as  I  could,  and 
presented  her  with  a  number  of  small  articles  which  had 
belonged  to  Roxana,  as  mementoes  of  remembrance — 
which  seemed  to  gratify  her  feelings  very  much. 

On  returning  to'  my  hut,  after  the  interment,  so  deso 
late  and  lonely  did  I  feel,  that  my  life  appeared  to  be 
bereft  of  every  joy,  and  time  bore  upon  me  with  a  weight 
almost  unendurable.  My  desire  to  leave  the  wretched 
abodes  of  the  savages,  since  the  death  of  Roxana,  re 
turned  upon  me  with  redoubled  force — and,  sink  or  swim, 


192  FIVE   YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

live  or  die,  I  was  determined  to  make  the  effort.  With 
this  resolution  on  my  mind,  before  making  the  attempt, 
I  concluded  to  enclose  the  grave  of  Roxana  with  a  sub 
stantial  fence,  and  adorn  it  with  a  quantity  of  wild  flow 
ers  and  shrubs.  Accordingly,  in  the  following  month 
of  May,  I  procured  a  number  of  substantial  posts,  and 
with  the  axe  and  auger,  constructed  a  post  and  rail 
fence,  which,  although  far  from  being  a  neat  job,  had, 
in  a  great  degree,  the  quality  of  permanence.  After 
having  completed  this  part  of  the  work,  I  procured  a 
variety  of  beautiful  wild  flowers  and  shrubs,  and  planted 
them  around  and  upon  the  grave  ;  and  then,  with  slow 
and  measured  steps,  returned  to  the  village,  with  the 
thought  upon  my  mind  that,  in  all  probability,  I  would 
never  again  behold  the  narrow  resting  place  of  all  that 
was  mortal  of  Roxana. 

A  few  days  before  she  died,  she  beckoned  me  to  her, 
and  told  me  that  she  expected  to  live  but  a  short  time, 
and  that  upon  the  parchment  that  I  had  prepared  for 
her,  she  had  written  a  letter  to  her  mother  and  sisters, 
which,  provided  I  ever  succeeded  in  making  my  escape 
from  the  savages  and  returned  to  England,  she  desired 
I  would  convey  to  them  ;  which  I  faithfully  promised  to 
do.  She  then  told  me  where  I  would  find  the  parch 
ment,  and  requested  me,  immediately  after  her  death,  to 
secure  and  preserve  it  in  a  sure  place. 

After  her  death,  I  found  the  letter  as  she  had  directed 
me,  neatly  folded  up,  unsealed,  and  with  the  proper  di 
rection  upon  the  back.  I  subsequently  opened  it,  and 


AMONG    THE    BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  193 

found  in  it  a  lock  of  her  hair  neatly  platted,  designed 
as  a  last  token  of  remembrance  for  her  mother. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  her  letter  : 

"JUNE  15,  1806. 

"  MY  DEAR  MOTHER  AND  SISTERS  :  Should  this 
epistle  providentially  fall  into  your  hands  in  the  future, 
you  will  learn  from  it,  that  at  the  time  it  bears  date, 
your  unfortunate  Koxana  still  survived ;  although,  in 
consequence  of  a  broken  constitution  and  the  ravages 
of  disease,  it  is  hardly  possible  for  her  to  live  many 
months  to  come.  My  dear  mother,  were  I  to  detail  to 
you  the  incidents  connected  with  my  captivity  amongst 
the  savages  of  Oregon,  and  the  dreadful  cruelties  in 
flicted  upon  me  by  them,  it  would  almost  break  your 
heart,  and  cause  you  to  weep  many  bitter  tears,— which, 
pardon  me,  I  do  not  mean  to  do.  Permit  me  to  say, 
however,  that  for  two  years  I  endured  all  that  it  was 
possible  for  me  to  bear  up  under,  and  that  in  consequence 
of  the  severity  of  my  treatment,  consumption  has  taken 
hold  upon  me,  and  has  nearly  accomplished  its  fatal 
work.  I  have  scarcely  enjoyed  a  well  day  for  more  than 
five  years,  and  much  of  the  time  I  have  been  confined 
to  my  couch.  For  upwards  of  four  years  I  have  been 
living  in  one  of  the  villages  of  the  Black-Feet  Indians, 
under  the  care  and  protection  of  Mr.  John  Dixon, 
(formerly  from  England,)  and  who  is  likewise  a  captive 
to  the  savages,  but  in  consequence  of  numerous  bold 
adventures  which  met  their  approbation  and  gratified 
their  vanity,  he  has  become  exceedingly  popular  with 
9 


194  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

them,  and  thereby  has  been  enabled  to  protect  me  from 
outrage  and  insult.  Had  not  Providence  provided  me 
with  this  friend  and  protector  in  a  land  of  gross  barbar 
ism,  I  must  have  long  since  passed  from  earth. 

Should  Mr.  Dixon  ever  return  to  England,  there  is 
no  service  you  can  render  him  that  will  be  too  great  in 
return  for  the  kindness  and  attention  he  has  bestowed 
upon  me.  The  affection  of  the  tenderest  brother  could 
have  done  no  more  to  assuage  my  sufferings,  than  has 
the  constant  and  faithful  attentions  of  Mr.  Dixon. 

Should  it  be  consonant  with  the  will  of  our  Heavenly 
Master  for  him  to  hereafter  return  home,  you  will  un 
doubtedly  learn  from  his  lips  many  of  the  incidents  con 
nected  with  my  captivity,  which  are  far  too  painful  for 
me  to  relate  to  you. 

This  lock  of  my  hair,  I  design  as  a  last  offering  of 
love  and  respect  to  my  mother.  Adieu, 

KOXANA.  " 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS,  195 


CHAPTER    X. 

ABOUT  the  first  of  June,  as  was  our  custom,  we  set 
out  for  the  prairies  to  spend  some  time  in  hunting  ;  and 
prior  to  setting  out,  I  had  resolved  to  make  this  the 
occasion  of  my  escape — so  long  contemplated  by  me. 
Accordingly,  I  accompanied  the  savages  on  the  enter 
prise,  as  usual ;  but  upon  arriving  on  the  hunting-ground 
I  discovered  that  I  had  forgotten  my  powder-flask.  (It 
is  hardly  necessary,  perhaps,  for  me  to  inform  the  reader 
that  this,  on  my  part,  was  intentional,  in  order  to  furnish 
me  with  an  excuse  for  a  brief  absence.)  Upon  making 
this  unfortunate  discovery,  it  became  necessary  for  me 
to  return  to  the  village,  in  order  to  obtain  the  ammuni 
tion.  The  chief  proposed  sending  one  of  the  warriors 
to  accompany  me  on  the  journey  back ;  but  I  told  him 
it  was  unnecessary  to  divert  any  of  his  men  from  the 
object  of  our  journey — that  I  would  return  myself,  and, 
although  the  distance  was  not  much  short  of  fifty  miles, 
they  might  expect  me  back  on  the  evening  of  the  second 
day  from  that  time.  This  arrangement  was  entirely  sat 
isfactory  to  them — nor  did  they  seem,  in  any  sense,  to 
suspect  me  of  improper  motives.  So  long  had  I  been 
with  them,  and  such  was  the  confidence  they  entertained 
of  the  fidelity  of  my  motives,  that  they  regarded  me  as 
one  of  themselves  in  every  respect. 


196  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

On  the  next  morning  after  reaching  the  hunting- 
ground,  I  set  out  on  my  return  to  the  village,  and  dur 
ing  the  day,  kept  my  horse  to  a  lively  speed — a  little 
after  dusk  arriving  at  the  village  ;  and  after  having  in 
formed  some  of  the  inhabitants  who  were  left  behind 
the  object  of  my  return,  and  partaking  of  a  little  dried 
venison  in  my  cabin,  as  I  supposed  for  the  last  time, 
retired  to  rest  for  the  night,  where,  without  sleeping  a 
wink,  I  ruminated  in  my  mind  the  dangers  of  the  enter 
prise  I  had  just  undertaken.  To  say  that  my  nerves  at 
this  time  were  a  little  unsteady,  would  convey  but  a 
faint  idea  of  the  emotions  with  which  I  was  oppressed. 
Such  was  my  anxiety  on  the  subject,  that  I  rolled  and 
tossed  myself  all  night.  But  the  die  was  cast,  and  let 
the  result  be  what  it  might,  I  was  resolved  to  make  the 
attempt 

Before  it  was  light  in  the  morning  I  was  up,  and 
having  provided  myself  with  a  quantity  of  dried  meat, 
enough  to  last  me  a  week,  I  mounted  my  horse  and  was 
off.  In  order  to  allay  any  suspicion  that  might  exist  in 
the  minds  of  any  of  those  in  the  village,  I  started,  and 
continued  to  travel  for  several  miles  in  the  direction  from 
whence  I  had  come,  as  though  I  was  returning  to  the 
prairies,  But  having  got  beyond  observation,  I  wheeled 
my  horse  at  a  right  angle,  and  struck  with  rapid  speed 
for  the  old  camp  from  which  Moulton,  Thornton,  and 
myself  had  been  so  ruthlessly  taken  nearly  five  years 
before.  My  object  in  making  for  this  point  was,  with 
greater  precision  to  determine  my  course,  in  order  to 
reach,  as  speedily  as  possible,  some  one  of  the  stations 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  191 

of  the  "  Hudson  Bay  Company."  About  12  o'clock  on 
the  second  day  after  setting  out  from  the  village,  I  ar 
rived  at  our  old  quarters — having  spent  the  previous 
night  without  fire  or  blanket,  in  the  wilderness,  some 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  from  the  deserted  camp.  Here 
I  halted,  in  order  to  graze  my  horse  and  replenish  my 
own  stomach. 

Whilst  thus  engaged,  what  was  my  surprise  and  mor 
tification  in  beholding  Wah-Kiwan,  and  twenty  of  his 
warriors  approaching  me  at  the  full  speed  of  their 
horses.  My  flattering  prospects  prematurely  perished  ; 
for  it  would  have  been  the  hight  of  presumption  in  me 
now  to  have  made  any  further  effort  in  the  prosecution 
of  my  purpose.  I  therefore  resolved  to  submit  to  what 
seemed  inevitable,  and  put  the  best  face  on  the  affair 
possible.  Upon  their  coming  up  I  hastened  to  them, 
and  assuming  an  unusually  joyous  countenance,  appeared 
very  much  rejoiced  to  see  them. 

They  appeared  to  suspect,  however,  that  all  was  not 
right,  for  they  were  demure,  and  but  little  disposed  to 
talk.  I  told  them  that  in  returning  to  the  prairies,  as  I 
had  agreed  to  do,  I  had  become  bewildered  and  lost 
my  way,  and  had  only  recognized  my  position  upon 
coming  unexpectedly  in  sight  of  the  old  encampment. 
They  listened  to  my  narrative  with  evident  indications 
of  doubt ;  and  at  length,  Wah-Kiwan  replied,  that  it 
was  strange  that  I  found  the  way  from  the  prairies^  to 
the  village  without  getting  lost ;  and  that,  upon  be 
coming  bewildered,  I  should  have  turned  the  feet  of  my 
horse  so  suddenly  from  the  course  I  was  pursuing,  and 


198  FIVE   YEARS  A   CAPTIVE 

that  I  should,  by  chance,  reach  this  particular  locality. 
I  must  confess  that  these  doubts  of  the  chief  rather 
put  my  wits  to  rack,  in  order  to  meet  them  with  a  proper 
answer  j  but  it  was  all  important  to  me,  as  matters  now 
stood,  that  I  should  at  once  furnish  a  reasonable  solution 
to  his  queries.  I  told  him  that  mystery  was  connected 
with  many  things  that  we  almost  daily  encountered,  and 
although  it  might  seem  strange  to  him  that  I  should 
have  thus  lost  my  way  and  finally  arrived  at  this  point, 
it  was  nevertheless  true,  as  his  own  eyes  would  bear 
witness.  That  perhaps,  in  my  anxiety  to  return  to  the 
prairies,  I  had  not  been  as  particular  in  observing  the 
course  as  I  should  have  been,  and  having  unobservedly 
got  out  of  my  way,  I  was  unable  afterwards  to  find  it 
again. 

I  also  informed  him  that,  after  reaching  the  camp, 
and  thereby  recognizing  my  error,  it  was  my  intention, 
after  grazing  my  horse  and  partaking  of  a  little  food 
myself,  to  have  set  out  on  my  return  to  the  village.  I 
also  reminded  them  of  the  fact,  that  I  had  now  been 
with  them  five  years — during  all  which  time  they  had 
ample  proofs  of  my  fidelity  to  them,  and  never  before, 
upon  any  occasion,  had  cause  to  doubt  my  words. 

To  these  arguments  on  my  part,  they  made  no  further 
attempt  at  a  reply  —  but  for  some  minutes  remained 
silent,  as  though  they  were  revolving  in  their  minds  the 
probable  truth  of  my  remarks.  At  length  they  became 
more  cheerful,  and  conversed  freely  on  other  topics,  and 
having  also  grazed  their  horses  and  partaken  of  their 
lunch,  we  set  off  on  our  return  to  the  village 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  199 

To  say  that  I  was  excessively  mortified  at  this  sum 
mary  result  in  my  long  cherished  scheme  of  escape, 
would  be  but  to  tell  half  the  story.  I  almost  despaired 
of  ever  seeing  my  condition  any  better  than  it  then  was, 
for  so  signal  a  failure  on  my  part  would  increase  the 
chances  against  me,  in  any  similar  attempt  in  the  future, 
by  destroying  to  some  extent  the  confidence  the  savages 
had  heretofore  reposed  in  me — thereby  increasing  their 
watchfulness  upon  all  my  movements. 

We  reached  the  village  late  on  the  evening  of  the 
following  day,  and  in  the  mean  time  no  further  allusion 
had  been  made  to  the  unfortunate  circumstance  of  my 
getting  lost  in  the  woods.  As  to  the  effect  of  my  ex 
planation  of  the  affair  upon  their  minds,  I  was,  as  yet, 
in  total  ignorance. 

I  was  not  a  little  puzzled  with  the  idea  as  to  how 
these  warriors,  whom  I  had  left  at  the  prairies  fifty  miles 
from  the  village,  and  who  designed  to  be  absent  two  or 
three  weeks,  had  so  soon  got  word  of  my  departure,  and 
with  such  promptitude  followed  me  up.  But  on  my  re 
turn  to  the  village,  the  mystery  was  solved  in  a  very 
natural  way. 

I  learned  from  some  of  them,  that  on  the  same  day 
that  I  had  left  the  prairies,  in  order  to  get  the  powder 
that  I  had  forgotten,  the  party  had  discovered  fresh 
signs  of  a  numerous  party  of  the  Snake  Indians ;  and, 
as  our  party  was  by  no  means  large,  it  was  thought  pru 
dent  for  the  present  to  evacuate  the  field  to  the  enemy. 
Accordingly,  about  noon  of  the  same  day  that  I  left  the 
village  in  order  to  make  my  escape,  the  whole  party  re- 


200  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

turned,  and  learning  that  I  had  set  out  in  the  morning 
on  my  return  to  camp,  and  that  by  some  mishap  they 
had  missed  me  on  the  way,  a  party,  headed  by  the  chief, 
immediately  set  out  in  pursuit  of  me,  lest  unfortunately 
I  might  reach  the  prairies  and  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Snakes,  and  be  destroyed.  They  took  my  trail,  and 
with  the  aptitude  of  blood-hounds  in  an  enterprise  of 
this  kind,  they  followed  me  up  with  as  much  ease  and 
precision  as  a  boy  would  thread  the  promenade  on  Lon 
don  Bridge. 

On  the  third  day  after  our  return,  Wah-Kiwan,  the 
chief,  came  to  me  and  informed  me  that  himself,  in 
council  with  his  warriors,  had  determined  to  submit  my 
case  to  the  "  Qualle."  I  informed  him  that  I  was  ig 
norant  of  his  meaning,  and  requested  him  to  explain 
himself  to  me.  He  then  informed  me  that  it  was  the 
opinion  of  his  warriors  that  I  had  made  an  attempt  to 
escape  from  them ;  but,  inasmuch  as  my  character  had 
hitherto  been  good,  and  there  was  no  positive  evidence 
against  me,  they  had  unanimously  agreed  to  refer  my 
case  to  the  "Qualle,"  in  order  to  test  the  truth  or  falsity 
of  my  statements. 

He  then  explained  to  me  the  nature  of  the  "Qualle," 
which  I  found  to  be  a  species  of  trial  by  ordeal,  which 
was  practiced  during  the  dark  ages  in  England,  and 
in  most  of  the  countries  of  Continental  Europe,  and 
founded  on  the  same  reasoning,  to  wit :  a  supposed  ref 
erence  of  the  justice  of  the  controversy  to  the  Supreme 
Being,  or,  in  this  case,  to  the  Great  Spirit  of  the  Black- 
Foot  nation — who,  these  ignorant  people  believe,  will 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  201 

always  interfere  in  behalf  of  the  innocent,  and  save  them 
from  unmerited  punishment  and  disgrace. 

I  endeavored  to  convince  Wah-Kiwan,  that  their 
suspicions  of  my  fidelity  and  good  intentions  toward 
them  were  unfounded,  and  did  me  great  injustice,  after 
so  many  manifestations  by  me  to  the  contrary.  He  re 
plied,  that  the  proceeding  was  in  conformity  to  the  cus 
toms  of  the  nation  in  all  cases  of  this  kind,  and  that  if 
innocent,  as  I  claimed  to  be,  I  had  nothing  to  fear  ;  that 
if  the  "  Qualle  "  declared  in  my  favor,  I  would  be  re 
instated  to  the  full  confidence  of  the  nation ;  but  if 
against  me,  death  was  the  penalty. 

Finding  that  nothing  I  could  say  or  do  was  likely  to 
be  of  any  service  to  me  in  my  present  circumstances,  I 
consented  to  accompany  him  to  the  place  of  trial,  which 
I  found  already  prepared,  about  two  miles  from  the 
village. 

The  "  Qualle"  consists  of  a  cord  made  of  the  inside 
bark  of  a  species  of  poplar  that  grows  in  this  country, 
and  is  about  seventy  feet  in  length — attached  to  one  of  the 
topmost  branches  of  a  tree,  the  other  end  extending  to 
the  ground.  This  bark  is  stripped  from  the  tree  in 
pieces  about  ten  feet  long,  three  inches  in  breadth,  and 
a  fourth  of  an  inch  thick,  and  then  knotted  together  until 
the  desired  length  is  obtained.  The  accused  is  then 
forced  to  ascend  the  tree  to  which  the  cord  is  attached, 
and  then  descend  it  to  the  ground.  If  the  cord  breaks, 
or  any  of  the  knots  slip,  by  means  of  which  the  culprit 
is  precipitated  to  the  ground,  he  is  held  to  be  guilty  of 
the  offense  charged — and  upon  striking  the  earth,  is  im 
mediately  attaked  and  hewn  to  pieces  by  the  savages. 


202  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

Upon  approaching  the  spot  and  learning  the  nature 
of  the  evidence  that  I  was  required  to  adduce  touching 
my  innocence,  in  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  this  sin 
gular  tribunal,  I  had  but  precious  little  hopes  of  satisfy 
ing  the  demands  of  the  law,  save  at  the  expense  of  my 
life — and  least  of  all  were  my  spirits  buoyed  up  by  the 
faith  I  entertained -in  the  saving  power  of  the  Great 
Spirit  of  their  nation. 

Before  making  an  effort  to  ascend  the  tree,  I  tried  to 
get  hold  of  the  cord  in  order  to  try  its  strength,  but  the 
savages  forced  me  away,  for  reasons,  I  suppose,  purely 
technical. 

Seeing  no  alternative  but  submission  on  my  part,  I 
commenced  climbing  the  tree,  amidst  the-  shouts  and 
screams  of  the  savages.  Although  I  considered  myself 
a  good  climber,  by  the  time  I  reached  the  branch  to 
which  the  cord  was  attached  I  felt  considerably  the 
worse  of  the  wear — for  in  my  ascent,  I  had  the  assist 
ance  of  but  two  limbs  to  help  me  on  my  way.  At 
length  I  reached  the  point  from  which  the  most  critical 
part  of  the  performance  was  to  commence,  and  having 
taken  sufficient  time  to  recover  my  breath,  and  to  some 
extent  quiet  my  nerves — after  carefully  examing  the 
manner  in  which  the  cord  was  fastened  to  the  limb,  and 
satisfying  myself  that  at  this  point  it  was  safe — I  cau 
tiously  commenced  my  downward  motion,  and  succeeded, 
without  any  accident,  in  reaching  about  half  the  length 
of  the  cord.  At  this  success  my  spirits  began  to  revive, 
and  hope  again  sprang  up  in  my  breast,  when,  to  my 
surprise  and  mortification,  two  of  the  savages  seized 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  203 

hold  of  the  end  of  the  cord,  and  commenced  running 
at  the  top  of  their  speed — describing  a  complete  circle 
in  their  motion.  In  the  mean  time,  the  whole  party  set 
up  a  boisterous  howl,  and  appeared  almost  frantic  with 
merriment  at  the  novelty  of  my  position,  and  my  evident 
fright.  I  shouted  to  them  to  let  go  of  the  cord,  but 
this  only  made  the  matter  worse.  After  clinging  to  it 
for  some  time,  in  the  momentary  expectation  of  its  snap 
ping  asunder  and  dashing  me  to  the  ground,  I  again 
commenced  the  descent,  notwithstanding  the  difficulties 
attending  my  efforts,  in  consequence  of  the  motion  and 
inclination  of  the  cord.  At  this  juncture  of  the  inves 
tigation,  I  had  but  faint  hopes  of  escaping  with  my  life, 
for  I  thought  it  scarcely  possible  that  the  slender  cord 
of  bark  would  be  able  to  stand  the  severe  test  to  which 
it  was  being  subjected.  But  to  my  astonishment,  and 
contrary  to  my  expectations,  I  ultimately  reached  the 
ground  in  safety.  When  I  had  approached  to  within 
perhaps  ten  feet  of  it,  the  two  savages  let  go  of  the  cord, 
and  suffered  me  to  land  without  further  molestation. 
But  so  much  was  my  strength  exhausted  by  the  severity 
of  labor  to  which  I  had  been  subjected,  and  my  fright, 
that  when  I  reached  the  ground,  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  I  could  stand.  The  savages,  however,  came  to  my 
relief,  and  in  their  rude  manner,  congratulated  me  upon 
the  successful  issue  of  my  cause,  and  conducted  me  to  a 
log  and  seated  me  upon  it. 

The  chief  then  informed  me  that,  the  Great  Spirit 
having  pronounced  in  my  favor,  I  was  fully  restored  to 
the  confidence  and  respect  of  his  people.  This  infor- 


204  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

mation  was  of  course  gratifying  to  my  feelings  ;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  it  failed  to  infuse  into  my  mind  any  great 
amount  of  respect  for  the  impartiality  with  which  (it 
was  said)  the  Great  Spirit  of  their  nation  punished  the 
guilty.  However,  I  felt  rejoiced  that  my  restoration  to 
their  former  confidence  and  favor  would  afford  at  least 
one  more  chance  at  escape — which,  notwithstanding  the 
disastrous  results  of  my  first  effort  in  that  way,  I  was 
resolved,  at  the  proper  time,  to  put  into  practice. 

Having  fully  rested  myself,  in  company  with  the  sav 
ages,  I  returned  to  the  village,  and  during  the  time  I 
was  with  them,  after  this  occurrence,  no  allusion,  by  any 
one,  was  ever  made  to  the  circumstance,  and  they  seemed 
to  regard  me  in  every  respect,  as  far  as  I  could  discover, 
with  the  same  confidence  that  they  had  done  before.  I 
deemed  it  prudent,  however,  before  making  another  at 
tempt  at  escape,  to  remain  with  them  awhile  longer,  in 
order  to  confirm  their  good  opinions  concerning  my  in 
tegrity,  by  some  new  instances  of  adventure  with  them. 

My  stock  of  powder  had  by  this  time  become  very 
much  reduced,  and  it  was  only  by  using  great  economy 
that  it  held  out  so  long.  A  small  portion  of  the  stock 
that  I  originally  had  I  carefully  put  away,  to  be  used  by 
me  only  in  procuring  means  of  subsistence,  and  in  self- 
defense  while  engaged  in  making  my  escape.  I  had 
managed,  in  various  ways,  in  deterring  the  savages  from 
acquiring  the  use  of  my  rifle — knowing  that  if  they 
once  succeeded  in  this,  my  ammunition  would  soon  dis 
appear,  and  the  hold  which  I  had  upon  their  supersti 
tion  would  be  lost. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  205 

I  accompanied  them,  and  took  part,  after  this,  in 
various  hunting  excursions,  and  in  the  mean  time  as 
sumed  a  cheerful  and  contented  mind. 

In  the  month  of  July  of  this  year,  while  engaged  in 
hunting  near  the  source  of  a  small  stream  that  rises  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  flows  into  the  Missouri  river, 
the  chief,  in  company  with  half  a  dozen  of  his  warriors, 
returned  to  camp  one  evening,  bringing  with  them  a 
quantity  of  gold,  which  they  said  they  had  picked  up 
from  a  sand-bank  that  they  came  upon  in  their  travels,  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  camp.  These  specimens 
had  the  appearance  of  once  having  been  in  a  state  of 
fusion,  and  by  some  commotion  of  nature  been  sev 
ered  from  the  general  mass — assuming,  in  the  process  of 
cooling,  an  almost  endless  variety  of  form. 

From  the  size  of  the  specimens  brought  to  the  camp, 
as  well  as  from  the  accounts  given  by  the  savages,  this 
metal  must  have  existed  in  large  quantities.  I  desired 
them  to  conduct  me  to  the  place  where  they  had  pro 
cured  it,  but  this  they  peremptorily  refused  to  do — as 
signing  as  a  reason,  that  the  Great  Spirit  of  their  nation 
had  intrusted  the  secret  to  them  alone,  and  it  would  be 
a  betrayal  of  confidence  were  they  to  intrust  it  to  others. 
The  chief,  however,  made  me  a  present  of  one  of  the 
specimens,  which,  in  England,  would  have  been  worth, 
perhaps,  two  pounds. 

These  savages  have  no  idea  of  the  value  of  this  metal, 
except  that  which  they  attach  to  it  in  the  way  of  trinkets, 
to  be  worn  upon  their  persons.  In  this  respect,  they 
do  not  differ  from  other  barbarous  nations ;  for  in  the 


206 

use  of  these  ornaments  they  are  excessively  prodigal. 
It  is  common  for  both  the  males  and  females  to  adorn 
their  persons  most  profusely  with  trinkets  of  gold, 
moulded  by  them  into  a  variety  of  forms,  in  order  to 
suit  the  peculiar  taste  of  the  wearer. 

I  had  often,  on  former  occasions,  endeavored  to  learn 
from  them  where  they  obtained  this  metal,  but  uniformly 
without  success.  In  visiting  the  mines  to  procure  it, 
advantage  was  always  taken  of  times  and  circumstances 
that  were  not  calculated  to  excite  my  suspicions,  and 
the  consequence  was,  that  notwithstanding  a  residence 
of  five  years  amongst  them,  I  never  succeeded  in  fathom 
ing  this  secret.  This  is,  perhaps,  not  to  be  wondered 
at,  when  the  locality  of  these  deposits  is  kept  a  profound 
secret  from  a"  large  majority  of  their  own  people,  from 
the  fact  (as  they  suppose)  that  if  every  one  knew  of 
their  locality,  through  immoderate  and  constant  use, 
they  would  soon  become  exhausted. 

An  equitable  system  of  policy  exists,  however,  in  the 
distribution  among  the  people  of  the  proper  quantum 
of  trinkets,  and  dissatisfaction  from  this  cause  seldom 
arises. 

The  chief  informed  me  that  this  was  a  new  deposit, 
which  they  had  hitherto  known  nothing  about,  and  that 
it  promised  to  be  more  productive  than  any  of  their 
old  ones. 

About  this  time  a  couple  of  deputies  arrived  at  the 
village  from  the  southern  part  of  the  nation,  informing 
us  that  a  party  of  the  Crow  Indians  had  made  a  sally 
upon  their  territory,  and  stole  a  number  of  their  horses, 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  20f 

and  soliciting  aid  from  us  in  their  recovery,  and  also  in 
the  chastisement  of  the  intruders. 

Preparations,  in  order  to  obey  a  requst  at  once  so 
reasonable  and  just,  were  immediately  commenced,  and 
on  the  following  day  we  set  out  upon  our  mission  of  re 
taliatory  justice.  On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  of 
our  journey,  we  arrived  at  the  quarters  of  our  friends, 
where  we  found  about  two  hundred  warriors  awaiting 
our  arrival,  anxious  to  avenge  the  recent  outrage  upon 
the  sovereignty  of  their  nation. 

Before  setting  out  on  this  mission,  I  made  all  the  ar 
rangements  which  I  deemed  necessary  preparatory  to 
another  attempt  at  escape ;  for  I  thought  it  probable 
that  during  this  campaign,  some  favorable  opportunity 
for  that  purpose  might  present  itself — in  which  case  I 
was  determined  to  embrace  it. 

The  enemy  had  so  much  the  start  of  us,  that  the 
council  deemed  it  inexpedient  to  try  to  overtake  them 
on  their  homeward  march,  but  determined  to  make  a 
bold  and  energetic  push  for  their  territory,  and  then 
regulate  their  motions  as  circumstances  might  seem  to 
require.  On  the  second  day  of  September,  we  left  our 
camp  for  the  enemy's  country,  and  after  a  toilsome  march 
of  three  days,  reached  the  northern  boundary  of  their 
territory.  A  council  was  again  called,  and  it  was  de 
termined  to  send  out  a  number  of  scouts,  in  order  to 
make  observations  touching  the  enemies'  locality,  &c. 

Twenty-five  scouts  were  sent  out  in  different  directions, 
with  orders  to  return  to  camp  as  soon  as  possible,  after 
having  thoroughly  scoured  the  country  in  search  of  signs 


208  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

of  the  retreating  enemy.  During  the  absence  of  the 
scouts,  we  remained  in  camp,  preserving  the  most  com 
mendable  quietude.  This  interval  of  inactivity  was  oc 
cupied  by  me  in  reflecting  upon  the  means  of  my  escape, 
and  the  following  plan  was  ultimately  fixed  upon  for 
future  use,  provided  circumstances  met  my  expectations. 
There  was  little  doubt  but  that  we  would  have  a  struggle 
with  the  enemy,  and  that,  as  usual  on  these  occasions, 
it  would  take  place  after  night.  My  plan  of  escape, 
therefore,  was  to  disappear  under  cover  of  the  darkness 
of  night,  at  the  time  the  belligerent  parties  were  fairly 
hitched  in  mortal  combat ;  and  having  made  the  best 
possible  use  of  my  time  during  the  remainder  of  the 
night,  secrete  myself  in  the  morning,  and  so  remain  all 
day, 

By  adopting  this  plan,  I  thought  it  reasonable  to  sup 
pose  the  Black-Feet  would  conclude  that  I  had  either 
been  killed  or  carried  away  by  the  enemy.  At  all 
events,  upon  the  supposition  that  I  had  escaped  from 
them,  they  would  hardly  venture  to  search  for  me  in  the 
enemy's  country, 

A  part  of  the  scouts  returned  to  camp  on  the  evening 
of  the  second  day  from  the  vtime  of  setting  out,  and  re 
ported  having  fallen  in  with  the  trail  of  the  retreating 
Crows,  and  having  followed  it  a  considerable  distance, 
they  at  length  came  in  sight  of  the  smoke  of  a  village, 
which,  upon  close  observation,  they  ascertained  to  con 
tain  about  seventy-five  huts,  and  a  large  number  of  war 
riors,  who  appeared  to  be  engaged  in  the  act  of  rejoicing 
over  some  bold  achievement.  Our  party  at  once  came 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  209 

to  the  conclusion  that  a  portion  of  these  people  must  be 
those  who  had  done  the  mischief. 

The  remaining  part  of  the  scouts  having  returned,  by 
the  time  day  began  to  dawn  in  the  east  we  were  in 
motion,  under  guide  of  the  scouts,  and,  after  having 
traveled  all  day,  and  till  nine  o'clock  at  night,  called  a 
halt,  and,  hastily  disposing  of  our  meal,  continued  our 
journey  on  foot — our  horses,  as  usual,  being  left  in  charge 
of  a  number  of  the  party.  About  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  we  reached  the  enemy's  village,  and  while  in 
the  act  of  marching  to  the  attack,  in  accordance  with 
the  plan  agreed  upon,  we  were  discovered  by  some  of 
the  enemy  who  were  loitering  about  the  outskirts  of  the 
village,  and  the  alarm  given.  Before  we  had  time  to 
reach  the  huts  (although  advancing  with  great  rapidity) 
a. shower  of  arrows  were  discharged  upon  us  by  them, 
and  a  number  of  our  party  fell.  The  conflict  now  be 
came  general,  and,  from  every  indication,  sanguinary. 
At  this  stage  of  the  affair,  I  instantly  disappeared  from 
amongst  them — unobserved,  I  believe,  by  a  living  soul, 
and  rapidly  moved  off  in  a  southerly  direction. 

My  object  had  been,  after  going  some  distance  in  this 
direction,  to  change  my  course,  and  travel  in  a  north 
westerly  direction,  in  the  hope  of  reaching  the  territory 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  ;  but  in  consequence  of 
my  ignorance  of  the  country,  and  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  I  became  confused  in  my  mind  and  mistook  my 
reckoning,  which,  as  the  reader  will  see,  was  the  cause 
of  a  world  of  suffering  and  trouble  to  me. 
What  the  result  of  the  contest  between  the  two  par- 
*9 


210  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

ties  of  savages  was,  of  course  I  never  learned  ;  but  from 
appearances  at  the  time  of  my  departure,  I  was  of  the 
opinion  that  if  the  Black- Feet  succeeded  at  all  in  the 
chastisement  of  their  enemy,  their  laurels  would  be 
dearly  bought,  as  the  Crows  seemed  to  be  not  only  nu 
merous,  but  well  prepared  for  their  reception.  But,  to 
a  people  so  accustomed  to  victory  in  almost  all  their 
contests  with  the  neighboring  tribes  as  the  Black-Feet 
were,  the  odds  would  have  to  be  great  indeed,  ere  they 
would  succumb  to  the  prowess  of  the  enemy. 

I  traveled  during  the  remainder  of  the  night,  making 
the  necessary  angle,  as  I  supposed,  in  order  to  reach  the 
point  of  my  destination.  As  day  began  to  dawn,  I  se 
creted  myself  beneath  the  foliage  of  a  thicket  of  under 
brush,  where  I  remained  all  day. 

During  this  interval  of  inactivity,  I  had  time  to  revolve 
in  my  mind  the  magnitude  of  my  undertaking  ;  and  in 
contemplating  the  many  difficulties  and  dangers  to  which 
I  would  necessarily  be  exposed,  in  making  the  long 
journey  before  me,  even  in  view  of  the  most  prosperous 
results,  I  almost  despaired  of  success. 

An  unbroken  wilderness,  of  many  hundreds  of  miles 
in  extent,  lay  before  me,  infested  with  barbarous  savages 
and  ferocious  beasts  ;  and  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected 
that,  for  so  long  a  time  as  I  would  necessarily  be  en 
gaged  in  making  this  journey,  I  would  be  so  fortunate 
as  to  escape  the  malignancy  of  both  these  enemies  ;  be 
sides  my  constant  exposure  to  numerous  other  contin 
gencies  of  perhaps  equal  danger.  But  I  had  now  been 
in  captivity  to  the  savages  for  five  years,  and,  without  a 


AMONG    THE    BLACK-FEET    INDIANS.  211 

desperate  effort  on  my  part,  I  must  live  and  die  with 
them ;  the  thought  of  which,  I  could  not  for  a  moment 
endure.  Let  the  issue  of  the  matter  be  what  it  might, 
I  regarded  the  effort  on  my  part  as  being  commendable, 
and  worthy  of  my  best  energies.  I  therefore  reconciled 
my  mind  to  meet  with  courage  and  in  a  proper  spirit 
every  possible  evil  that  might  befall  me  while  in  pursuit 
of  this,  the  great  object  of  my  heart. 

I  had  with  me  a  small  quantity  of  dried  meat,  which 
the  savages  designed  to  last  me  through  the  campaign 
with  the  Crows  ;  and,  after  this  was  exhausted,  I  would 
be  forced  to  rely  upon  my  rifle  for  supplies — which,  by 
the  by,  had  never  failed  me  in  an  emergency  of  this  kind. 

As  soon  as  night  had  again  covered  the  earth  with  its 
sable  mantle,  I  pursued  my  journey,  and  as  daylight 
began  to  appear  in  the  morning,  stopped  to  rest  myself 
beneath  the  branches  of  a  cluster  of  young  elms,  and 
being  very  tired,  soon  fell  asleep,  and  did  not  wake  till 
near  noon ;  when,  after  partaking  of  some  of  my  ven 
ison,  I  again  set  out  on  my  way.  From  this  time  for 
ward,  I  traveled  altogether  in  daylight,  and  rested  my 
self  during  the  night. 

In  this  way,  my  toilsome  journey  was  prolonged  till 
the  second  day  of  November — nearly  two  months  from 
the  time  I  set  out.  A  few  of  the  more  prominent  inci 
dents  with  which  I  came  in  contact  in  the  mean  time,  I 
will  now  proceed  to  relate. 

On  the  15th  day  of  September,  as  I  was  progressing 
on  mydpurney,  I  suddenly  came  upon  an  Indian  village, 
and  was  in  imminent  danger  of  losing  my  life.  With- 


212  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

out  expecting  a  casualty  of  this  kind  at  the  time,  my 
mind  was  wholly  absorbed  in  contemplating  the  proba 
bilities  of  my  escape,  when,  emerging  from  a  dense  wood, 
I  found  myself  almost  within  the  purlieus  of  the  village 
limits.  That  I  had  been  observed  was  evident,  from 
the  rapid  retreat  of  a  number  of  squaws  and  naked 
children.  My  condition  was  extremely  perilous,  and  I 
instantly  sprang  back  into  the  woods.  Presently  three 
warriors,  with  bows  and  arrows  in  their  hands,  cautiously 
approached  the  spot  where  I  had  emerged  from  the 
wood.  By  this  time,  I  had  retired  at  a  little  distance, 
and  taken  up  my  position  behind  the  trunk  of  a  large 
tree — regarding  it  as  dangerous  to  undertake  to  effect 
my  escape  by  flight,  when  the  enemy  was  so  close  upon 
me.  Having  reached  the  edge  of  the  wood  where  I 
had  been  observed,  they  stopped,  and  commenced  peep 
ing  and  peering  in  every  direction,  in  order  to  get  their 
eyes  upon  me. 

While  thus  employed,  a  prudent  regard  for  my  own 
safety  dictated  to  me  that  this  was  the  proper  time  to 
make  the  best  disposition  possible  of  a  bad  case.  At 
all  events,  I  could  hardly  make  it  any  worse.  The 
largest  savage  of  the  three  occupied  a  position  a  little 
in  front  of  the  other  two.  My  rifle  was  already  in  posi 
tion  against  the  side  of  the  tree,  and  bringing  it  to  bear 
upon  the  region  of  the  heart  of  the  large  Indian,  I 
pulled  the  trigger,  and  leaping  into  the  air  at  least  three 
feet,  he  dropped  upon  his  face,  quivering  in  death.  A 
nervous  shout  from  the  two  other  savages  folldfc^ed  the 
report  of  my  gun,. succeeded  by  a  rapidity  of  flight  that 


AMONG    THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  213 

would  have  been  credible  to  the  speed  of  thorough-bred 
greyhounds.  And,  by  the  way,  after  this  adventure,  my 
own  speed  was  by  no  means  contemptible,  for  upon  it  I 
supposed  my  life  depended. 

Varying  my  course,  in  order  to  avoid  the  village, 
during  the  remainder  of  the  day  and  a  portion  of  the 
succeeding  night,  I  passed  over  a  credible  extent  of 
territory. 

To  what  tribe  these  savages  belonged  is  more  than  I 
can  tell,  as  they  differed  in  some  respects  in  appearance 
from  any  I  had  seen.  It  is  probable  that  the  warriors 
of  this  village,  with  few  exceptions,  were,  at  the  time  of 
this  occurrence,  absent  on  a  hunting  tour,  as  upon  this 
hypothesis  only  could  I  account  for  the  appearance,  on 
so  important  an  occasion  as  this,,  of  so  few  of  them. 

I  entertained  serious  fears  of  being  pursued,  and  per 
haps  waylaid  by  them ;  and  to  avoid  a  contingency  of 
this  kind,  I  took  pains  to  conceal  my  trail  as  much 
as  possible,  thereby  rendering  it  difficult  of  pursuit 
Whether  these  fears  were  well  founded  or  not,  is  more 
than  I  can  say — at  any  rate,  I  never  saw  or  heard  from 
them  aftewards. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  this  month,  while  en 
deavoring  to  compose  my  mind  to  sleep  after  a  weary 
day's  journey,  near  the  source  of  a  small  ravine,  I  was 
aroused  by  the  tumultuous  howling  of  what  appeared 
to  be  legions  of  wolves.  At  first,  they  seemed  to  be 
at  a  considerable  distance,  but  from  the  gradual  increase 
in  the  Alume  of  noise,  they  were  evidently  approxima 
ting  thwplace  of  my  rest ;  an<J  from  the  known  audacity 


I 


'214:  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

of  these  animals  when  pressed  by  hunger,  I  felt  but 
littje  disposed  to  enter  the  arena  with  them ;  though 
circumstances  seemed  to  require  on  this  occasion  that  I 
should  give  them  a  cordial,  if  not  an  enthusiastic  re 
ception.  I  collected  together  a  quantity  of  dry  leaves 
and  sticks,  and  having  set  them  on  fire  by  means  of  the 
flint  in  my  gun  and  a  little  powder,  I  was  in  hopes  the 
conflagration  would  keep  them  at  bay.  They  still  ap 
proached  nearer  and  nearer,  however,  and  as  a  last  pre 
cautionary  movement  on  my  part,  with  rifle  in  hand,  I 
climbed  into  the  branches  of  a  small  tree  that  stood 
near,  and  composedly  awaited  their  approach. 

While  the  fire  burned  they  preserved  a  respectful  dis 
tance,  but  in  the  course  of  a  couple  of  hours,  it  having 
all  •  died  out,  they  ventured  up  in  great  numbers,  and 
made  the  night  hideous  with  their  wild  and  sonorous 
music.  Judging  from  their  noise  and  the  moving  mass 
which  I  was  enabled  to  distinguish  through  the  dark 
ness,  there  must  have  been  a  hundred  in  the  gang.  I 
was  not  able  to  get  a  moment's  rest  during  the  night — 
for  besides  the  perils  of  submitting  myself  to  the  arms 
of  Morpheus  while  astride  the  branch  of  a  tree,  the  in 
cessant  howling  of  the  wolves  drove  all  desire  for  this 
luxury  from  my  eyes.  During  the  night  I  fired  my  rifle 
twice  amongst  the  moving  mass,  with  the  hope  of  at 
least  frightening  them  away — which,  upon  both  occa 
sions,  had  for  the  time  being  the  desired  effect;  but 
they  soon  rallied  again,  apparently  as  courageous  as 
before.  As  day  began  to  dawn  in  the  east,  Aey  de 
parted  for  their  dens,  ano  my  great  joy,  leftSKe  again 


AMONG    THE    BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  215 

to  the  peaceful  contemplation  of  my  own  mind.  On 
descending  the  tree  in  the  morning,  I  found  that  one  of 
the  discharges  of  my  rifle  had  taken  effect  upon  the 
vitals  of  one  of  these  canines,  as  a  portion  of  its  bones 
were  left  strewed  upon  the  ground,  a  standing  testimony 
of  the  remorseless  hunger  of  its  companions. 

On  the  night  of  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  (Sep 
tember,)  I  again  found  myself  in  a  most  perilous  situa 
tion.  I  had  quartered  myself  for  the  night  upon  the 
summit  of  a  slight  elevation  of  ground,  beneath  a  kind 
of  canopy  formed- by  a  union  of  the  branches  of  numer 
ous  shrubs  and  vines.  Sometime  in  the  night,  I  was 
aroused  from  my  sleep  by  a  deep  gutteral  growl,  which 
seemed  at  no  great  distance  from  me.  From  the  sound 
of  the  noise  I  was  convinced  that  it  proceeded  from  •  a 
grizzly — and  only  by  the  most  prompt  and  desperate 
effort  on  my  part  could  I  expect  to  save  myself  from 
the  devouring  jaws  of  this  monster.  I  instantly  sprang 
to  my  feet,  at  the  same  time  clutching  my  rifle  in  one 
hand  and  my  knife  in  the  other. 

The  night  was  moderately  dark,  and  my  fire  had  en 
tirely  gone  out.  For  some  time  after  gaining  my  feet,  I 
looked  in  every  direction,  in  order  to  get  my  eyes  on  the 
disturber  of  my  repose,  but  apparently  to  no  effect,  as 
I  was  able  to  recognize  nothing  that  my  imagination 
could  torture  into  a  grizzly,  or,  in  fact,  the  form  of  any 
other  animal.  While  thus  standing,  intently  gazing 
around,  another  hideous  growl  drew  my  attention  to  the 
branches^ka  large  oak  tree,  which  stood  in  the  imme 
diate  viciBy ;  and,  to  my  ani||nnent,  I  there  beheld, 


216  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

squatting  upon  a  limb,  an  animal  that  I  recognized  at 
once  as  being  a  panther  of  large  size,  apparently  in  the 
proper  attitude  to  leap  upon  me.  Its  eyes,  in  the  dark 
ness,  glowed  like  two  balls  of  fire,  and  my  danger  was 
evidently  most  imminent.  Time  was  precious,  and  the 
advantage  would  probably  result  to  the  assailing  party  ; 
at  any  rate,  under  the  circumstances,  I  regarded  the  in 
itiative  the  safer  policy,  and,  accordingly,  was  not  slow 
in  bringing  my  rifle  upon  a  level  with  the  beast,  and  aim 
ing  my  ball  for  that  part  of  its  body  lighted  up  by  the 
reflection  of  its  eyes,  fired  upon  it,  when  the  monster 
rolled  off  the  limb,  and  with  tremendous  force  came 
crashing  to  the  ground.  After  discharging  my  gun,  I 
immediately  drew  my  knife,  in  expectation  of  a  hand- 
to-hand  encounter  with  the  enemy.  But  to  my  infinite 
delight,  I  soon  discovered  that  in  this  respect  I  need  be 
under  no  apprehension,  as  a  state  of  profound  silence 
soon  convinced  me  that  its  aggressive  principles  were 
done  for  forever,  and  that  its  malignant  spirit  had  already 
taken  its  departure. 

After  rekindling  my  fire,  I  took  a  light  in  my  hand 
and  approached  the  place  where  it  laid,  and  found  it  to 
be  a  very  large  brown  panther  My  ball  had  entered 
its  head  between  and  a  little  above  its  eyes,  and  taking 
an  upward  direction,  carried  away  a  considerable  part 
of  the  skull.  Half  an  inch  higher,  and  I  would  have 
missed  it  entirely ;  and  then,  no  doubt,  I  would  have 
had  a  most  interesting  time  in  order  to  have  maintained 
the  supremacy  of  the  field  with  so  chivalroAa  knight 
of  the  species  feline.  « 


AMONG    THE   BLAOK-FEET   INDIANS.  217 

Such  had  been  the  excitement,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
terror  that  had  taken  hold  upon  me  during  these  trans 
actions,  that  I  felt  no  disposition  to  sleep  during  the 
remaining  portion  of  the  night ;  but  I  passed  the  time 
away  as  best  I  could,  sitting  by  my  fire  till  morning. 

After  this  adventure,  I  met  with  nothing  serious  on 
my  way  till  the  5th  of  October.  On  this  day,  as  I  was 
in  the  act  of  crossing  a  narrow  prairie,  I  beheld  away 
in  the  distance  on  my  right  what  I  took  to  be  six  In 
dians  on  horseback,  rapidly  approaching  in  the  direction 
where  I  was.  I  immediately  sunk  down  and  concealed 
myself  beneath  the  high  grass.  I  was  very  fearful  that 
they  had  seen  me,  and  that  the  object  of  their  present 
mission  was  my  capture,  if  nothing  worse.  In  these 
fears,  however,  I  was  happily  disappointed  ;  for  they 
rode  on  past  me  without  checking  the  speed  of  their 
horses  in  the  least,  or  apparently  taking  notice  of  any 
passing  object.  They  soon  disappeared  among  the  tim 
ber  at  the  other  end  of  the  prairie,  when  I  again  rose 
to  my  feet  and  continued  on  my  way. 

On  the  13th,  I  encountered  a  precipitous  hill,  upon 
the  north  side  of  which  a  tremendous  slide  had  recently 
taken  place,  carrying  with  it  a  great  number  of  trees 
and  rocks  into  the  valley  below.  At  the  foot  of  the 
hill,  along  the  whole  length  of  the  rear  end  of  the  slide, 
in  great  abundance,  was  collected  together  in  puddles 
a  substance  which  very  much  resembled  quicksilver, 
and  upon  which  the  rays  of  the  sun  had  a  most  luminous 
and  beautiful  appearance.  Its  glowing  brightness  was 
such  as  to  sensibly  affect  the  sight  by  looking  upon  it 

10 

• 


218  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

for  any  considerable  length  of  time  Such  was  the 
abundance  of  this  substance,  that  I  might  have  gathered 
gallons  of  it  in  a  very  brief  space  of  time. 

My  wonder  at  this  singular  phenomenon  was  greatly 
excited  ;  for  although  I  had  heard  of  quicksilver  mines, 
yet  I  had  hardly  realized  in  my  own  mind  the  fact  of 
their  existence  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  much  less 
the  idea  of  their  exemplification  in  so  remarkable  a  man 
ner  in  this  wild  and  almost  uninhabited  region  of  the 
country.  Not  only  in  its  general  appearance,  but  in 
its  extreme  versatility,  it  resembles  that  sold  in  the 
shops  of  London,  and  other  European  cities  ;  and  I  am 
fully  persuaded  in  my  own  mind,  that  this  is  the  same 
substance. 

On  the  night  of  the  ITth,  I  was  much  annoyed  by 
the  almost  constant  howling  of  wolves,  and  the  occa 
sional  mournful  cry  of  a  panther ;  but,  from  some  cause, 
they  gave  me  no  farther  trouble,  and  although  I  slept 
but  very  little,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  retaining  pos 
session  of  my  humble  couch. 

The  greater  part  of  the  21st  I  spent  in  concealment 
at  the  source  of  a  deep  and  almost  impenetrable  ravine. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  this  day,  I  discovered  that  I 
was  in  the  vicinity  of  the  habitations  of  a  tribe  of  sav 
ages,  as  I  saw  in  advance  of  me  a  number  of  squaws 
picking  up  sticks.  I  changed  my  course  in  order  to 
avoid  them,  and  accepted  of  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  first  place  of  security  with  which  I  met ;  for  travel 
ing  in  daylight  where  I  then  was,  I  regarded  as  hazard 
ous  in  the  extreme.  After  night  had  fairly  set  in,  I 


AMONG   THE    BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  219 

continued  my  journey,  and  traveled  all  night,  in  order  to 
get  as  far  beyond  the  locality  of  these  savages  as  possi 
ble  by  morning. 

I  had  now  been  subsisting  for  more  than  a  month  up 
on  the  game  that  I  chanced  to  kill  with  my  rifle  on  the 
way,  and  hitherto  had  met  with  little  inconvenience  from 
short  allowance.  But  for  the  succeeding  twelve  days 
of  my  wanderings,  I  met  with  scarcely  any  game,  and 
was  in  imminent  danger  of  starving  to  death.  And  had 
it  not  been  for  one  of  those  fortuitous  circumstances 
which  occasionally  cross  our  path  under  the  most  des 
perate  fortune,  even  at  a  time  when  hope  has  abandoned 
its  mission  of  mercy,  these  facts  would  never  have  been 
narrated  by  me.  But  the  sequel  will  show  the  result. 

The  painful  conclusion  had  for  some  time  forced  itself 
upon  my  mind  that  I  had  lost  my  way,  and  that,  instead 
of  advancing  in  the  direction  of  the  territory  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  probability  was,  that  I  was 
wandering  about  to  no  purpose,  in  this  wild  and  inhos 
pitable  country. 

These  thoughts,  added  to  the  prospect  of  absolute 
starvation,  in  connection  with  all  my  other  troubles  and 
difficulties,  caused  me  almost  to  despair  and  give  myself 
up  for  lost.  For  a  month  and  a  half  I  had  now  been 
contending  with  the  fury  of  the  elements  above,  as  well 
as  that  of  prowling  beasts  and  wandering  savages ; 
and  from  aught  that  appeared,  I  was  no  nearer  the 
great  object  of  my  heart  than  I  was  the  day  I  set 
out.  My  condition  at  this  time  was  indeed  pitiable, 
and  my  distress  can  never  be  fully  appreciated  by 


220  FIVE   YEARS   A   CAPTIVE 

any  living  creature.  The  last  morsel  of  food  that  I 
had  was  consumed  by  me  on  the  morning  of  the  22d, 
after  which  I  set  out  on  my  journey  with  the  hope  that 
I  would  come  upon  some  game  during  the  day  ;  but  in 
this  I  was  doomed  to  disappointment,  for,  although  I 
was  diligent  in  the  use  of  all  the  means  calculated  to 
insure  success,  yet,  during  the  whole  day,  I  came  upon 
nothing  in  form  of  fish,  fowl  or  beast ;  and  in  the  evening, 
weary  and  hungry,  I  laid  down  to  spend  the  night. 

By  dawn  of  day  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd,  I  re 
sumed  my  course,  with  hopes  of  better  success  on  this 
day  ;  but,  as  though  the  star  of  my  fortune  had  gone 
out  forever,  as  on  the  preceding  day,  I  found  nothing, 
and  in  an  almost  famishing  condition  was  obliged  to 
spend  another  night. 

On  the  24th,  it  rained  all  day,  and  I  was  drenched 
from  morning  till  night ;  nevertheless,  the  day  was  fully 
occupied  by  my  labors  for  subsistence.  Sometime  in 
the  afternoon  of  this  day,  while  following  the  margin  of 
a  small  stream,  I  shot  a  fowl  of  the  crane  species,  and 
hastily  removing  its  feathers  and  intestines,  in  an  in 
credibly  brief  space  of  time  had  it  roasting  over  a  brisk 
fire.  So  great  were  the  cravings  of  my  appetite,  that 
before  it  was  sufficiently  cooked,  I  commenced  devour 
ing  it ;  and,  although  it  was  exceedingly  poor,  I  thought 
it  excellent.  But  a  few  minutes  served  me  for  its  con 
sumption,  and  niy  hunger  was  still  unappeased.  This 
timely  relief,  however,  added  greatly  to  my  strength, 
and  I  continued  my  travels  till  dark,  without  even  get 
ting  a  glimpse  of  any  thing  else  that  would  have  been 
useful  to  me  as  food. 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  221 

The  25th  was  also  spent  to  no  purpose,  so  far  as 
game  was  concerned,  and  with  the  exception  of  an  an 
telope,  which  I  failed  to  get  a  shot  at,  I  saw  nothing 
that  would  afford  me  relief.  Weary  in  body,  and  broken 
in  spirit,  I  threw  myself  upon  the  ground,  at  the  base  of 
a  large  tree,  in  order  to  spend  the  night.  I  soon  fell 
asleep,  and  dreamed  that  I  was  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
variety  of  game,  consisting,  in  part,  of  deer,  elk,  and 
buffalo,  and  that  I  killed  a  great  many  of  them.  Upon 
waking  from  my  sleep  to  a  consciousness  of  my  condi 
tion,-  what  was  my  mortification  on  finding  my  vision  of 
plenty  the  deception  of  a  mere  dream. 

On  the  26th,  the  only  relief  I  obtained  in  my  starving 
condition  was  a  snipe,  which  I  killed  while  passing 
along.  This  bird  was  about  the  size  of  an  English 
quail,  and  in  color  very  much  resembled  it.  It  afforded 
me  an  apology  for  a  meal,  and  to  my  taste  was  the  most 
delicious  food  that  I  ever  ate. 

The  27th  was  utterly  barren  of  results,  in  the  way  of 
supplying  my  necessities.  And  from  this  time  forward 
to  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  November,  I  was 
able  to  procure  nothing  in  the  way  of  food.  Such  had 
become  my  extreme  weakness  and  exhaustion,  that  on 
the  31st  day  of  October  I  found  myself  unable  to  ad 
vance  any  farther  on  my  way,  and  beneath  the  shadow 
of  a  venerable  spruce,  laid  down  upon  the  ground,  re 
signing  myself  a  martyr  to  cold  and  hunger. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  death  that  can  befall  us  so  pro 
lific  of  the  extremes  of  misery  and  wretchedness,  as  that 
by  starvation.  In  its  more  advanced  stages,  grim-vis- 


222  FIVE   YEABS   A   CAPTIVE 

aged  hunger,  in  form  of  a  hideous  monster,  rears  its 
head  aloft,  and  with  a  mighty  arm  forces  under  its  des 
potic  rule  not  only  all  that  is  noble  and  exalted  in  mor 
als  and  religion,  but  all  the  other  passions  of  the  heart. 
So  that  the  most  gentle,  loving  females,  pressed  by  this 
demon  power,  have  destroyed  their  own  offspring  in  order 
to  appease  its  cravings. 

It  is  true  that  my  experience  does  not  go  to  the  ex 
tent  of  actual  death  from  this  cause ;  yet  I  certainly 
passed  through  every  stage  short  of  it,  on  this  occasion. 
My  whole  being  was  a  prey  to  the  lusts  of  its  power ; 
and  I  thought,  cared,  or  dreamed  of  nothing,  but  how 
to  gratify  the  ceaseless  gnawings  of  appetite. 

While  laying  in  this  hopeless  condition,  unable  tp 
move  either  hand  or  foot,  and  with  my  mind  delirious 
from  the  greatness  of  my  misery  and  distress,  I  was 
rescued  from  the  jaws  of  death  by  a  party  of  Mexican 
traders,  who,  on  the  2nd  day  of  November,  providentially 
passed  that  way  on  their  return  home.  Upon  perceiving 
me,  several  of  them  dismounted  from  their  horses,  and 
seeing  that  I  was  not  dead,  and  from  appearances,  as 
well  as  from  a  few  signs  which  I  gave  them,  learning 
that  I  was  perishing  from  starvation,  they  prepared  a 
little  food  and  gave  it  to  me.  Two  of  their  number  re 
mained  with  me  all  night,  and  by  giving  me  small  allow 
ances  of  food  at  short  intervals  through  the  night,  by 
the  next  morning  I  felt  much  improved ;  and  by  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  was  able  to  ride  on  horseback. 
At  their  request,  I  gave  them  a  brief  sketch  of  my  life, 
from  the  time  I  was  taken  captive  by  the  Indians  up  to 


AMONG   THE   BLACK-FEET   INDIANS.  223 

'"%" 

the  present.  They  appeared  much  interested  in  my 
narrative,  and  expressed  their  sympathy  for  my  mis 
fortunes. 

They  informed  me  that  I  was  upon  the  confines  of 
Mexico,  and  that  the  section  of  country  through  which 
(for  the  last  ten  days  of  my  travels)  I  had  passed,  was 
nearly  destitute  of  game,  from  the  fact  that  for  many 
years  it  had  been  much  visited  by  the  hunters  from 
Mexico,  as  well  as  by  those  of  a  number  of  tribes  of 
Indians. 

I  could  scarcely  realize  the  fact,  that  in  traveling  as 
I  supposed  in  the  direction  of  Vancouver's  Island  on 
the  Pacific,  I  had  so  far  lost  my  way  as  to  have  reached 
the  territory  of  Mexico ;  and  yet  I  dared  not  question 
my  authority.  I  thanked  the  Lord,  however,  for  the 
deliverance  He  had  thus  sent  me,  though  at  so  great  a 
cost  on  my  part,  and  in  a  way  that  I  had  not  expected. 
Both  of  the  men  who  were  left  with  me  could  talk 
broken  English,  and  they  advised  me  to  accompany 
them  to  Mexico  as  my  only  means  of  safety,  and  one 
that  would  ultimately  afford  me  a  chance  to  return  to 
my  own  country. 

Of  course,  under  the  circumstances,  I  readily  em 
braced  their  advice ;  and  being  supplied  by  them  with 
a  horse,  went  with  them  to  their  own  country.  Being 
entirely  destitute  of  money,  as  well  as  decent  apparel, 
my  return  home,  as  a  matter  of  course,  had  to  be  de 
ferred  until  I  could  provide  myself  with  a  proper  supply 
of  these  essentials. 

The  people  generally  with  whom  I  have  become  ac- 


224  FIVE   YEARS   A    CAPTIVE 

quainted,  seem  to  take  considerable  interest  in  my  be 
half,  and  through  their  influence,  I  obtained  my  pres 
ent  situation  as  shepherd  to  Castro  Urego,  a  wealthy 
Spaniard  of  this  country.  The  term  of  my  service  is 
for  one  year ;  at  the  end  of  which  time,  I  am  to  receive 
for  my  services  a  sum  of  money  about  equal  to  one 
hundred  pounds  sterling,  when  I  shall  immediately  set 
out  for  England,  by  way  of  New  Orleans  in  America. 


Here  Mr.  Dixon's  notes  terminate,  and,  as  a  conse 
quence,  our  labors  with  them.  By  way  of  explanation, 
however,  we  will  inform  the  reader  that  Don  Zeno  (to 
whom  reference  is  made  in  the  introduction)  informed 
Mr.  Winter,  that  before  Mr.  Dixon's  term  of  service 
was  up,  he  was  attacked  by  a  malignant  fever,  and  after 
lingering  in  great  distress  for  about  three  weeks,  died, 
and  was  buried  under  his  father's  directions. 

EDITOR 


